GIFT  OF 

H.B.Wilson 


•V 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Page. 

THE  ESSENTIAL  IDEA   OF  METHOD.  6 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  DIFFICULTY  OF  THE  PROBLEM.  8 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE  REAL  PROVINCE  OF  METHOD.  16 

Indistinctness  as  to  Scope 16 

Ground  of  the  Indistinctness 16 

Objective  Method 17 

Subjective  Method 20 

CHAPTER  IV. 

SPECIAL  METHOD.  26 

CHAPTER  V. 

VARIOUS  USES  OF  THE  TERM  METHOD.  40 

Mode  of  Considering  Any  Use  of  the  Term 40-47 

General  Meanings 48 

Popular  Meanings 49-63 

Educational  Meanings 63-87 

Pedagogical  Meanings 87-119 

CHAPTER  VI. 

METHOD  IN  A  BRANCH  OF  STUDY.  120 

The  Essential  Features  of  Organization  in  a  Branch  of  Study  .  120-121 

Method  in  Composition 121 

Organizing  Principle 121 

The  Scope 121 

The  Divisions 121 

The  Relative  Importance  of  the  Divisions 122 

The  Psychological  Process  of  the  Learner 122-128 

The  Mental  Effects  Produced  by  Composition 129-130 


677891 


ii.    .  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

Page 

The  Devices  in  Composition 130 

The  Course  of  Study  in  Composition 130-152 

First  and  Second  Grades 130-135 

Third  Grade 135-138 

Fourth  Grade »  . 138-142 

Fifth  Grade 143-147 

Sixth  Grade 147-152 

Special  Devices  or  Means 152 

CHAPTER  VII. 

METHOD  IN  A   WESSON  153 

The  Essential  Elements 158 

The  Principle  Underlying  the  Wesson — Self-determination  .    .  154 

Its  Stages •    •    • 154-155 

The  Objectifying  Process 155-157 

The  Subjectifying  Process 157-285 

The  General  Nature  of  Knowing 158-176 

Analysis  of  the  Process  of  Knowing 177-235 

Presentation 177 

Idea  of 177 

Sense-Perception  . •    •   • 177-181 

Sensing 178 

Perceiving 179 

Apperceiving 179-180 

Pedagogical  Principles  Implicit  in  Perception  180 

Representation 181-199 

Idea  of 181-182 

Memory 182-189 

Spontaneous  Memory 182-184 

Voluntary  Memory 184-186 

Systematic  Memory 186-188 

Development  over  Sense-perception   ....  188-189 

Pedagogical  Principles  Implicit  in  Memory  .  188-189 

Imagination 189-195 

Mechanical  Imagination 189-190 

Reproductive  Imagination  (Separative) 190-191 

Creative  Imagination 191-193 

Development  over  Memory 193-194 

Pedagogical  Principles  Implicit  in  Imagination  .  194-195 

The  Language  Activity 195-199 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.  iii. 

Page 

The  Productive  Language  Act 196-197 

The  Interpretative  Language  Act 197-198 

Development  over  Imagination 198-199 

Pedagogical  Principles  Implicit  in  the  Lan- 
guage Activity 199 

Thought 199-232 

The  Understanding 199-206 

Apprehension 201 

Distinction 201 

Classification 201-202 

Examples  of  These  Three  Processes 202-205 

Development  over  the  Language  Activity    .    .    .  205-206 
Pedagogical  Principles  Implicit  in  the  Activity  of 

Understanding 206 

Ratiocination 206 

Forms 206-232 

Conception 206-215 

Development  over  the  Understanding 214 

Pedagogical  Principles  Implicit  in  Conception    .  214-215 

Judgment 215-228 

General  Nature 215-216 

Forms  or  Classes 216-218 

Relation  of  the  Particular  to  the  General ....  218-220 

Relation  to  the  Other  Processes  of  Knowing  .    .  220-221 

Development  from  Conception 221 

Development  over  Conception 221 

Pedagogical  Principles  Implicit  in  Judgment  .    .  222-223 

Reasoning 223-232 

General  Nature 223-224 

Forms '  224-232 

Identification 224 

Induction 224-228 

Development  over  Judgment 227 

Pedagogical  Principles  Implicit  in  Induction  .    .  227-228 

Deduction 228-231 

Development  over  Judgment 231 

Pedagogical  Principles  Implicit  in  Deduction  .    .  231-232 

Function  of  The  Image 232-235 

The  Structure  of  £  Lesson 235-247 

The  Essential  Elements .  237-247 


Iv.  TABI.B  OF  CONTENTS. 

•Page 

Subject-matter 237-240 

Assignment 237-240 

Steps   .   . 240-242 

Purpose 242-244 

Devices 244-247 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING.  248 

Central  Principle 248-249 

Those  Based  upon  Intellectual  Activity 249-267 

Those  Based  upon  Emotional  Activity; 267-278 

Those  Based  upon  Volitional  Activity] 278-288 

Those  Based  upon  the  General  Nature  of  the  Self    .   .   .  288-289 

APPENDIX  I. 

Series  of  Sentences  Expressing  Stages  of  Various  Activities  .  291 

Suggestions  for  Work  with  These  Series 306-321 

Elaboration  of  Series 821-326 

APPENDIX  II. 

Form  for  Indicating  the  Psychical  Processes  of  the  Pupils  in 

Lessons  Observed  in  the  Grades 326-328 

The  Objects  of  the  Mental  Acts 326-828 

The  Characteristic  Process 828 

The  Subordinate  Processes    .              .   .    •   •   • 328 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 


BY 

HOWARD  SANDISON, 

DEPARTMENT  OF  PSYCHOLOGY,  INDIANA  STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL, 
TKRRE  HAUTE,  INDIANA. 


TERRE  HAUTE,  INC. 

THE  GLOBE  PRINTING  HOCSE 

1906 


LBiosi 


EDUCATION  DEPT. 


COPYRIGHT,  -1904, 

BY 
HOWARD   SANDISON. 


PREFACE. 


In  this  volume  it  is  the  intention  to  consider  method  as 
essentially  the  psychological  process  of  the  pupil  in  ob- 
taining possession  of  the  subject-matter.  Method  in  its 
general  aspect  is  identified,  not  with  the  psychological 
processes  in  their  diversity  and  as  they  appear  upon  the 
surface.  It  is  identified  with  the  fundamental  movement 
of  the  self,  which,  upon  reflective  introspection,  reveals 
itself  in  each  of  the  diverse  processes,  such  as  sense-per- 
ception, memory,  etc. 

It  is  then  to  be  shown  that  this  fundamental  mental  move- 
ment specialized  by  the  activity  of  the  mind  upon  the  special 
subject-matter  of  any  given  branch  of  study  is  the  core  of 
the  method  of  that  subject. 

The  three  different  views  as  to  the  nature  of  method 
and  their  relative  importance  are  to  be  given  brief  consid- 
eration, and  the  idea  of  special  method  is  to  be  illustrated 
with  the  subject  of  language. 


CHAPTER  I. 

.         **»•*••       .*, 

THE  ESSENTIAL  IDEA  pi1  llETHO'D,  „, /*' 

Mr.  Andrewes  was  a  good  scholar 'and  (cfu»lie  another*  •  '»  •  J 
matter)  a  good  teacher. 

MRS.  EWING — A  Flat  Iron  for  a  Farthing. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  subject  of  method  is  just  as  capa- 
ble of  assuming  the  form  of  a  distinct  science  as  is  any  other 
one  of  the  subjects  dealing  with  truth,  such  as  physics, 
chemistry,  geology,  botany,  grammar,  history,  etc.,  for 
the  reason  that  the  sources  of  its  principles  and  its  central 
principle  are  perfectly  definite.  The  principles  arise,  on  the 
one  hand,  from  the  nature  of  the  subject  to  be  taught,  and  on 
the  other  hand,  from  the  nature  of  the  mind  to  be  educated. 
Method  itself  may  be  said  to  be  the  mental  activity  of  the 
learner,  specialized  by  activity  upon  the  subject  being 
studied. 

The  doctrine  of  method  has  been  compactly  stated  as  fol- 
lows :  '  *  The  fact  in  the  thing ;  the  law  in  the  mind ;  the 
method  in  both.  "*  Close  study  will  give  a  fuller  and  a  more 
definite  meaning  to  "the  fact  in  the  thing;  the  law  in  the 
mind,  and  the  method  in  both." 

"The  fact  in  the  thing"  will  come  to  mean  some  fact  of 
a  subject  unified  by  having  one  of  its  attributes  emphasized, 
and  the  other  attributes  subordinated  to  this  emphasized  at- 
tribute by  the  interest  of  the  mind.  For  example,  "the 
fact  in  the  thing,"  in  geology,  may  be  a  mountain  range, 

*  WM.  A.  JONES,  first  President  of  the  Indiana  State  Normal  School  — from  1870 
to  1879. 


6  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

with  its  attribute  of  growth  or  becoming  emphasized  by  the 
interest  of  the  mind.  All  of  the  other  attributes  of  the 
mountain,  thereby  become  subordinated  to  this  one  at- 
tribute of  growth,  and  are  considered  only  to  the  degree  in 
which  they  contribute  in  making  it  clear. 
*»;'.>  The  lawa-a, -the  mind"  will  come  to  mean  the  great 
truth  that  ithe  mind,"  in  considering  any  fact,  as  for  example 
jth^Jmou^tajtei  raftge,  seizes  it  first  indistinctly,  that  is,  some- 
what in  the  form  of  blind  feeling;  that  second,  as  thought,  it 
analyzes  the  object  under  consideration  into  its  definite  ele- 
ments, rather  isolating  each  element  as  if  it  were  complete 
in  itself;  that  third,  as  thought,  concentrating  its  attention 
upon  the  isolated  attributes,  it  determines  which  is  the  pre- 
dominant one.  This  unifying  process  is  continued  by  con- 
sidering each  other  element  as  revealing  or  bearing  upon 
this  predominant  attribute — thus  re-unifying  the  isolated 
elements.  Finally,  through  repeated  consideration  of  the 
object  in  these  relations,  this  organized,  unified  view  of  it 
becomes  habit,  and  thereby  sinks  into  feeling  again,  becom- 
ing thus  truly  the  self.  In  other  words,  "the  law  of  the 
mind"  will  come  to  mean  the  fundamental  three-fold  move- 
ment of  mind,  movements  three  and  four  being  essentially 
one.  This  movement  is  the  mind 's  growth  in  freedom  from 
blind  feeling  through  definite  analysis  and  organized  re- 
unifying to  enlightened  feeling. 

"The  method  in  both"  will  come  to  mean  this  funda- 
mental movement  of  mind  specialized  by  having  as  its  sub- 
ject-matter or  content  some  fact  of  a  branch  of  study  with 
one  of  its  attributes  emphasized  by  the  mind 's  interest,  and 
all  the  others  subordinated  through  this  interest  to  that 
attribute.  The  method  in  a  subject,  then,  is  a  mental  move- 
ment ;  it  is  not,  however,  a  mental  movement  considered  ab- 
stractly, that  is,  apart  from  any  content.  Its  content  is  the 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  7 

particular  object,  attribute,  or  relation  being  investigated. 
This  renders  the  mental  act  specific  or  particular. 

If  the  foregoing  presents  the  correct  view,  a  method  can- 
not be  invented;  it  can  only  be  discovered.  It  can  never 
become  a  personal  thing  to  be  carried  about  with  one  and 
"applied"  to  a  subject.  If  one  does  view  method  as  a  some- 
thing which  can  be  carried  about  and  applied  to  a  subject, 
it  is  likely  to  shut  out  the  light  of  that  subject  as  did  the 
Extinguisher  which  the  spirit  in  Dickens 's  Christmas  Carol 
applied  to  the  spirit  of  Christmas. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE  DIFFICULTY  OF  THE  PROBLEM. 

It  would  seem  then  that  the  subject  of  method  presents  a 
very  real  problem.  This  is  much  at  variance  with  the  usual 
notion,  which  is  that  the  subject  of  method  is  a  very  simple, 
superficial  branch  of  study,  having  a  problem  easy  of  solu- 
tion. The  problem  of  method  is,  however,  more  difficult 
than  merely  gaining  a  knowledge  of  helpful  devices.  It  is 
both  difficult  and  important  on  the  assumption  that  the  one 
who  is  to  gain  a  knowledge  of  method  in  the  subject  does 
not  clearly  possess  the  organizing  idea  or  principle  of  that 
branch  of  study  nor  the  close  organization  of  the  material 
of  the  branch  of  study  upon  the  organizing  principle. 

The  reasons  for  considering  the  problem  of  method  to  be 
both  difficult  and  important  are  that  a  true  insight  into  the 
nature  of  method  in  any  given  subject,  involves : 

1.  In   addition  to   the   academic   view   of   the   subject 
gained  in  common  school,  high  school,  academy  or  college, 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  organizing  principle  of  the 
branch  of  study  to  be  taught,  and  a  close  organization  of  the 
subject  on  that  principle. 

2.  In  addition  to  the  academic  view  of  the  subject  of 
psychology  obtained  in  high  school,  academy  or  college,  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  central  principle  of  mental  life 
and  of  the  organization  of  mental  phenomena  upon  this 
principle. 

3.  A  knowledge  of  the  mental  process  necessary  in  gam- 
ing a  knowledge  of  the  subject. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  9 

4.  A  knowledge  of  the  following  important  truth:  In 
themselves  facts  belong  to  no  subject.  They  belong  merely 
10  the  universe.  Each  fact  has  a  large  number  of  relations, 
a  large  number  of  attributes.  Considering  the  fact  in  itself, 
any  one  of  these  attributes  is  just  as  important  as  any  other, 
a.  The  material  or  subject-matter.  The  first  process 
in  determining  the  method  in  any  branch  of  study  is  con- 
stituted by  the  acts  of  becoming  aware  of  the  general  ma- 
terial of  the  branch  of  study,  and  of  discovering  the  charac- 
teristic attribute  of  its  facts.  What  this  attribute  is,  has 
been  determined,  to  an  extent,  by  the  value  the  race  has  at- 
tached to  the  facts  of  the  subject.  In  order  to  render  any 
attribute  the  essential  one  of  the  fact,  the  mind  must  with- 
draw its  attention  temporarily  from  the  other  attributes 
and  center  it  upon  this  one.  Thereupon  the  mind's  in- 
terest centers  in  this  attribute,  and  the  purpose  arises  to 
consider  the  fact  with  all  of  its  other  attributes  in  relation 
to  this  attribute,  and  so  to  consider  all  similar  facts.  If  this 
is  general,  it  causes  the  subject  to  assume  definite  shape. 
Prior  to  the  emphasizing  of  this  attribute,  the  facts  of  the 
subject  were  known  to  the  mind  only  crudely,  indefinitely. 
The  one  attribute,  however,  having  been  emphasized,  as  for 
example,  the  attribute  of  growth,  of  becoming,  in  the  moun- 
tain range,  the  subject  acquires  in  consequence,  a  core,  a 
unity,  an  organizing  principle.  It  now  for  the  first  time 
possesses  a  distinguishing  mark.  All  facts  viewed  with 
reference  to  this  attribute  now  belong  within  this  subject, 
even  if  they  may  be  at  other  times  facts  of  another  subject. 
They  cannot,  however,  be  facts  of  another  subject  at  the 
same  time  that  they  are  facts  of  this  subject.  They  cannot 
in  this  other  subject  possess  the  same  relations  and  the  same 
emphasis  of  relations  that  they  do  in  this. 

With  this  emphasized  attribute  in  mind  as  the  central 


10  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

truth  of  the  subject,  the  student  of  any  subject  is  able  to 
determine  definitely: 

b.  The  scope  of  the  subject. 

c.  The  divisions  and  sub-divisions  of  the  subject. 

d.  The   relative   importance    of   the    divisions,    sub- 
divisions and  separate  facts. 

e.  The  successive  movements  or  steps  that  would  be 
taken  by  the  mind  of  the  learner  in  mastering  any  one  of 
the  facts  of  the  subject  in  such  a  way  as  to  bring  into 
prominence  the  attribute  around  which  the  mind's  interest 
centers. 

Method,  essentially,  is  just  this  act  of  the  pupil's  mind 
rendering  subjective  a  particular  fact  of  a  given  subject. 
This  mental  process  may  be  viewed  in  two  ways: 

(1).  The  steps  in  any  given  case  may  be  seen  to 
be  what  has  been  termed  above,  the  fundamental  movement 
of  mind,  i.  e.,  grasping  a  thing  indefinitely;  analyzing  it 
into  definite  elements;  reunifying  these  isolated  elements 
into  an  organized,  differentiated  unity;  repeating  this 
thought  of  the  organized  unity  in  such  a  large  variety  of 
forms  that  through  habit  it  is  at  last  transmuted  into  en- 
lightened feeling,  thereby  becoming  a  part  of  the  individual 
himself. 

It  is  seen  that  the  mastery  of  this  view  of  the  movement 
necessarily  belongs  to  the  systematic  study  of  psychology 
itself.  This  movement  is,  in  truth,  the  organizing  idea  in 
educational  psychology.  Hence  it  indicates  the  true  scope 
of  the  subject,  its  divisions,  the  relative  importance  of  the 
divisions,  etc. 

(2).  The  other  view  of  the  steps  to  be  taken  by 
the  mind  of  the  learner,  is  what  may  be  termed  a  special 
view.  The  special  steps  are  this  fourfold  fundamental 
movement  of  mind  specialized  by  the  particular  subject- 
matter  of  the  branch  of  study.  For  example,  the  special 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  11 

steps  in  studying  the  mountain  range  as  a  fact  in  geology, 
are: 

(a).  The  indistinct,  indefinite  comprehension  of 
the  mountain  range  as  to  its  growth,  as  to  its  becoming.  This 
may  involve  sense-perception,  memory,  imagination,  etc. 

(b).  Definite  analysis  of  the  facts  or  elements  in- 
volved in  the  mountain  range  viewed  as  to  its  process  of  be- 
coming. This  involves  the  isolation  of  the  prominent  at- 
tribute— the  process  of  becoming — the  isolation  of  all  other 
attributes,  as  locality,  length,  direction,  height,  present  con- 
dition of  structure,  etc.,  and  the  distinct  consideration  ovf 
each.  This  may  involve  memory,  abstraction,  comparison, 
imagination,  etc. 

(c).  Re-unifying,  i.  e.,  considering  each  of  the 
isolated  elements  as  to  its  bearing  on  the  central  attribute — 
the  process  of  becoming. 

(d).  Such  varied  and  repeated  thinking  of  this 
organized  unity  as  will  result  in  habit ;  that  is,  in  transmut- 
ing this  thought  of  the  organized  unity  into  feeling — not, 
however,  into  blind  feeling,  since  the  feeling  here  indicated 
arises  after  definite  analysis  and  definite  re-unifying. 

The  mental  movement  here  indicated  under  "  (2)  "  is  the 
core  of  the  problem  of  method.  Method  in  geology  is  this 
specialized  mental  process  required  in  order  to  understand 
clearly  the  mountain  range  in  its  process  of  becoming.  In 
order  to  see  clearly  what  the  method  is,  one  must  be  able  to 
see  it  first  as  the  general  movement.  He  is  then  to  compre- 
hend it  as  specialized  through  the  definite  subject-matter. 
As  soon  as  the  general  movement  has  become  specialized, 
one  is  able  to  see  the  different  activities  of  mind  involved  in 
each  of  the  four  general  steps.  Thus  he  is  able  to  see 
whether  geology  involves  observation,  memory,  induction, 
etc. 


12  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

f .  A  knowledge  of  the  mental  effect  produced  in  the 
learner.     While  this  effect  may  be  prominently  intellectual, 
emotional,  or  volitional,  it  is  always  all  three,  that  is,  the 
whole  mental  being  is  affected  by  the  truth  studied  and  by 
the  process  of  studying  it.     One  who  understands  the  prob- 
lem of  method  must  be  able  to  set  clearly  before  himself 
the  effect  to  be  produced  upon  the  mind  of  the  learner  by 
the  investigation  of  any  given  subject.     The  first  effect  to 
be  noted  is  the  habit  resulting  from  acting  the  distinctive 
act  of  the  subject,  as  the  grammar  act,  the  geography  act. 

g.  A  knowledge  of  the  means,  that  is,  of  the  outside 
instrumentalities,  or  devices.    These  are  two  kinds,  general 
and  special.     The  general  is  the  course  of  study.      The 
special  includes  laboratories,  and  all  modes  of  procedure  in 
laboratory  work,  field  work,  questions,  illustrations,  work 
with  maps;  written  examinations;  discussion  of  examina- 
tion papers,  lectures,  etc.     The  things  referred  to  under 
"g"  constitute  that  which  is  usually  in  mind  when  one 
speaks  of  method.     It  is,  however,   only  one  feature   of 
method,  and  its  external  feature. 

In  order  to  understand  this  last,  one  must  not  only  be 
aware  of  the  external  means  themselves,  appropriate  to  the 
subject;  but  he  must  also  see  the  reasons  underlying  their 
use,  and  the  order  of  their  use.  It  will  be  noted  that  "4" 
of  the  thoughts  indicated  on  the  ninth  page  may  be  re- 
garded as  a  feature  of  "1"  on  the  eighth  page.  It  there- 
fore appears  that  there  are  two  ways  of  dealing  with  the 
subject  in  order  to  gain  a  knowledge  of  it.  In  the  first 
mode  the  learner,  having,  even  in  the  beginning,  a  some- 
what crude  view  as  to  the  facts  that  belong  under  the  sub- 
ject, enters  at  once  upon  an  examination  of  the  facts. 
Gradually  he  becomes  aware  of  their  various  relations,  and 
on  the  basis  of  these  relations  groups  them  into  divisions 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  13 

and  sub-divisions.  He  thereby  gains  a  knowledge  of  the 
relations  within  the  subject,  and  of  the  general  relations  of 
this  subject  to  other  subjects.  The  second  mode  of  dealing 
with  the  subject  includes  all  of  these  indicated  under  the 
first,  and  in  addition,  the  more  scientific  process  of  seeking 
first  the  organizing  principle  of  the  subject;  deriving  from 
this  a  knowledge  of  the  scope  of  the  subject,  of  the  divisions 
and  sub-divisions,  and  of  the  relative  emphasis  of  the  divi- 
sions, sub-divisions,  and  facts.  This  central  truth  arises 
from  the  mind's  (the  race's)  interest  or  purpose.  The  sec- 
ond, and  higher  knowledge  of  the  subject  thus  indicated, 
implies  that  the  teacher  and  the  learner  know: 

a.  That  the  subject  acquires  its  core,  its  central 
truth,  from  the  mind's  interest  in  a  given  attribute. 

b.  What  this  given  attribute  is. 

c.  The  mental  process  in  making  any  given  attribute 
the  predominant  one  of  the  subject. 

The  study  of  the  subject  of  psychology  has  the  same  two 
modes  of  examination.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  second  of 
the  two  thoughts  indicated  in  "1"  on  page  8 — the  knowl- 
edge of  the  branch  of  study,  and  the  second  thought  under 
"2"  of  the  same  page — the  knowledge  of  psychology,  are 
not  really  elements  in  method,  strictly  considered.  They 
are,  however,  aspects  of  pedagogical  work.  In  "e"  on  page 
10,  method  itself  is  found.  It  will  also  be  evident  that  "e" 
and  "f " — the  mental  steps  in  mastering  any  given  fact  in  a 
subject,  and  the  effect  to  be  produced  upon  the  mind  of  the 
learner,  constitute  the  basis  for  "g"  or  the  seventh  point— 
the  outward  means,  the  devices.  The  question  now  arises 
as  to  the  requisites  in  order  to  be  able  to  make  substantial 
progress  in  discovering  the  method  in  any  given  branch  of 
study.  One  often  speaks  of  a  specialist  in  a  branch  of  study 
as  having  these  requisites. 


14  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

He  has  very  important  qualifications.  He  does  not,  how- 
ever, seem  to  possess  full  qualifications.  Sometimes  one 
speaks  of  the  specialist  in  psychology  who  has  only  a  general 
understanding  of  the  nature  of  the  branch  of  study  to  be 
taught,  as  the  one  fitted  to  discover  the  method  in  that  sub- 
ject. He  does  possess  a  very  important  qualification,  but  as 
previously  indicated,  method  cannot  be  "invented;"  it  is 
already  there.  It  is  to  be  discovered;  it  cannot  be  discov- 
ered in  isolation  from  a  systematic  knowledge  of  the  subject. 
One  cannot  evolve  the  method  in  geology  out  of  inner  con- 
sciousness, and  then  in  the  usual  terms,  ' '  apply  it "  to  geol- 
ogy. It  seems  incredible  that  any  one  has  ever  entertained 
the  notion  that  the  method  of  a  branch  of  study  can  be  dis- 
covered apart  from  and  in  ignorance  of  the  branch  of  study. 
It  seems  equally  incredible,  that  it  can  be  discovered  in 
ignorance  of  the  nature  of  the  law  of  mind,  of  the  conse- 
quent stages  of  mental  development,  etc.,  even  by  one  who 
is  an  expert  in  the  branch  of  study.  A  branch  of  study, 
as  physics  or  chemistry,  does  not  consist  merely  of  facts;  it 
consists  of  known  fact  organized  on  a  special  interest  or  pur- 
pose of  the  human  mind.  The  attribute  of  these  facts  em- 
phasized by  this  special  interest  or  purpose  of  the  human 
mind  becomes,  therefore,  the  distinguishing  mark  of  the 
facts  and  the  key  to  its  method. 

The  one  best  fitted,  then,  to  discover  the  method  in  phy- 
sics, chemistry  or  any  other  branch  of  study,  is  the  one 
who  has  become  a  specialist  in  both  the  branch  of  study  it- 
self and  psychology.  This  would  give  the  ideal  conditions. 
On  account  of  the  comprehensiveness  of  such  conditions,  it 
is  very  difficult  to  possess  them.  The  aim  is  to  approxi- 
mate these  ideal  conditions  more  and  more  each  year.  The 
problem  of  method,  can,  however,  be  solved  to  a  helpful 
degree,  even  by  those  who  know  of  the  branch  of  study 
only  enough  to  secure  a  good  grade  of  license  to  teach ;  and 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  15 

who  know  of  mind  only  that  which  would  come  from  close 
observation  of  their  own  mental  activities,  from  close  ob- 
servation of  those  of  children  as  indicated  by  their  words 
and  outward  actions,  and  from  a  brief  course  in  the  sys- 
tematic study  of  psychology.  It  can  be  solved  to  a  highly 
helpful  degree  by  those  students  who  have  done  all  this, 
and  who  in  addition  have  given  a  year  or  more  to  a  sys- 
tematic study  of  the  branches  of  knowledge  and  of  psychol- 
ogy from  the  pedagogical  attitude. 


16  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  REAL  PROVINCE  OF  METHOD. 

INDISTINCTNESS  AS  TO  SCOPE. 

In  this  case  the  mere  expression,  "The  Real  Province  of 
Method, "  is  itself  significant.  It  implies  that  the  boundary 
line  between  the  realm  of  method  and  that  of  something  else 
is  indistinct.  That  something  else  may  be  scholarship;  it 
may  be  the  realm  of  means,  of  external  appliances,  of  de- 
vices. In  the  title  there  is  the  implication  that  method  is, 
or  has  been,  occupying  an  unreal,  fictitious  province.  This 
fictitiousness  may  arise  from  the  fact  that  scholarship  is 
wanting,  and  that  the  attempt  to  determine  a  set  of  princi- 
ples to  control  in  that  given  realm,  in  which  scholarship  is 
wanting,  results  in  an  unreal  province  for  method.  Outer 
doing,  devices,  external  means,  with  little  or  no  attention 
to  the  truths  that  underlie  them,  may  be  pressed  to  the  front 
as  method.  This  would  constitute  a  fictitious  province  for 
method.  Scholarship  alone  may  be  exalted  as  if  it  were  all 
in  all.  In  that  case  method  would  not  possess  its  real  pro- 
vince. It  means  that  an  indistinctness  prevails  as  to  the 
true  realm  of  method.  To  remove  this  indistinctness  is  the 
problem. 

GROUND  OF  THE  INDISTINCTNESS. 

It  is  but  natural  that  a  certain  indefiniteness,  that  a  given 
degree  of  indistinctness  should  prevail  as  to  the  real  province 
of  method,  in  distinction  from  that  of  both  scholarship  and 
external  means.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  activity  is  the 
one  thing  to  be  found  in  the  universe.  Sometimes  one 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  17 

speaks  of  a  thing  and  of  activity  upon  it.  But  what  is  the 
thing  itself  other  than  activity  ?  A  block  of  compact  steel 
seems  perfectly  motionless,  yet  every  atom  in  it  has  a  space 
of  its  own,  and  exists  in  a  continual  dance.  Thus  it  is  with 
every  atom  in  the  hardest  granite.  It  seems,  therefore,  that 
only  activity  is.  This  activity  rises  from  its  most  passive 
form  as  space,  until  it  becomes  an  activity  that  can  become 
aware  of  itself,  as  in  consciousness.  Scholarship,  then,  con- 
cerns itself  with  activity,  and  with  activity  only.  Method, 
too,  must  deal  with  activity,  and  with  that  alone.  The 
realm  of  device,  of  external  means,  is  also  one  of  doing,  of 
activity.  In  this  fact,  that  device  is  activity,  that  method 
deals  with  and  is  activity,  that  the  subject-matter  of  scholar- 
ships is  activity,  rests  the  source  of  the  indistinctness  as  to 
their  respective  provinces. 

OBJECTIVE    METHOD. 

The  activity  that  scholarship  investigates  appears  in  ever- 
recurring  types.  This  activity  may,  therefore,  appropri- 
ately take  unto  itself  the  term  method.  Every  branch  of 
study  investigates  activity  as  type  or  law;  and  law  is 
method,  and  method  is  law.  The  past  makes  us  its  debtor 
by  handing  over  to  us  this  thought  in  the  very  term  method 
itself.  The  word  "method"  signifies  according  to  a  way. 
But  what  is  it  that  is  according  to  a  way?  And  what  is 
meant  by  a  way?  If  the  thought  above  presented,  viz., 
that  there  is  nothing  in  the  universe  other  than  activity,  be 
true,  then  it  must  be  activity  that  is  according  to  a  way. 
And,  moreover,  the  way  itself  is  necessarily  an  activity. 
Then  it  becomes  clear  that  the  past  transfers  to  us  this 
thought  which  it  had  garnered  from  the  fields  of  experience 
— a  method  is  an  activity  according  to,  or  in  harmony  with, 
activity.  The  first  activity  mentioned  must  be  the  real  one, 
the  one  actually  occurring,  the  one  exhibiting  itself  in  some 


18  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

product.  The  second  activity  referred  to  must  be  the  ideal 
one,  the  typical  activity,  the  norm;  it  is  both  the  end  and 
the  criterion  of  the  real  activity,  of  the  one  that  is  actually 
ocurring.  A  method,  then,  is  a  real  activity  according  to, 
and  in  harmony  with  an  ideal  activity.  It  now  becomes 
somewhat  more  clear  that  close  thought  only  will  render 
distinct  the  provinces  of  scholarship,  method  and  devices, 
and  likewise  their  unity. 

Every  branch  of  study  has  for  its  subject-matter  certain 
particulars,  certain  phenomena  that  are  essentially  its  own. 
These  phenomena  may  appear  in  other  branches  of  study  as 
well  as  in  this  one,  but  they  do  not  appear  in  those  other 
branches  in  the  same  aspect  that  they  do  in  this.  The  cot- 
ton plant  appears  as  a  fact  in  geography.  It  is  also  present 
as  one  of  the  phenomena  considered  in  botany.  As  a  geo- 
graphical fact,  however,  it  is  not  identical  with  itself  as  a 
botanical  fact.  If  in  this  sense  each  branch  of  study  has  its 
own  set  of  particulars,  the  activity  that  produces  any  one 
of  these  particulars  must  be  typical.  Why  does  one  in  look- 
ing at  a  piece  of  sandstone  say,  "This  is  not  a  good  speci- 
men ? "  It  is  because  the  activity  that  produced  it  was  not 
according  to  the  type,  to  the  ideal.  The  activity  that  pro- 
duces the  facts  in  history  or  in  geology,  must  be  activity 
according  to  the  type,  according  to  the  ideal.  Hence,  in 
this  sense,  activity  is  a  method.  The  activity  that  produces 
a  grammatical  fact,  the  activity  that  produces  a  geo- 
graphical fact,  the  activity  that  produces  a  historical 
fact,  is  a  method  because  it  is  an  activity  which  has  as  its 
end  and  criterion  an  ideal.  Identity  with  this  ideal  must 
be  the  end  of  the  activity,  and  the  ideal  is  it  criterion.  It 
is  with  such  a  thought  in  mind  that  one  says,  "This  is  not 
truly  a  geographical  fact;  that  is  not  really  a  grammatical 
fact ;  that  ought  not  to  be  termed  a  historical  fact. ' '  There 


THE;  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  19 

is,  then  a  method  in  the  subject,  and  this  method  is  the  ac- 
tivity that  produces  the  individuals  composing  the  subject- 
matter.  Such  activity  is  in  the  realm  of  scholarship. 

The  problem  in  a  given  branch  of  study  is  to  investigate 
the  nature  of  the  activity  that  produces  its  facts;  to  deter- 
mine the  various  phases  thereof  and  their  relations  to  one 
another.  For  example,  the  noun  is  a  fact  in  grammar.  The 
activity  that  produces  it  is  different  fom  the  activity  that 
produces  the  lily  of  the  valley.  Grammar  must  investigate 
the  first  activity,  botany  the  second.  Each  branch  of  study 
is,  however,  an  investigation  of  the  method  that  creates  the 
individuals  in  its  subject-matter.  This  activity  may  be 
termed  the  objective  method. 

Every  branch  of  study,  therefore,  has  its  objective 
method.  By  this  is  meant  the  method,  the  activity,  the 
force,  the  energy  that  produces  the  different  individuals 
composing  the  subject-matter.  For  example,  the  subject 
of  reading  has  what  may  be  termed  its  objective  method. 
This  is  the  energy,  the  force,  the  activity  required  to  pro- 
duce the  various  individuals  in  the  subject-matter;  such  as 
"Thanatopsis,"  ' ' E vangeline, "  "The  Burial  of  Sir  John 
Moore,"  "The  Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow,"  etc.  Grammar 
has  its  objective  method.  This  is  the  activity,  the  energy, 
the  force  that  creates  the  various  individuals  included  in 
the  subject-matter  of  grammar;  as,  the  noun,  the  abverb; 
the  preposition,  etc.  History  as  a  branch  of  study  has  its 
objective  method.  This  is  the  activity,  the  energy,  the 
force  that  created  the  various  individuals  in  the  subject- 
matter  as,  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  the  Hartford  Conven- 
tion, the  Secession  Ordinance,  etc.  The  investigation  of 
such  activities  and  their  products  is  within  the  realm  of 
scholarship. 

When  scholarship  has  revealed  the  essential  nature  of  this 
activity,  this  objective  method  of  the  subject,  it  has  grasped 


20  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

the  true  basis  from  which  may  be  inferred  three  important 
things. 

Scope. — One  of  these  is  the  scope  of  the  subject-matter. 
It  is  the  function  of  scholarship  to  determine  this,  to  decide 
what  facts  belong  within  the  range  of  the  subject,  and  what 
ones  are  excluded. 

Divisions  and  sub -divisions. — Another  important  thing 
that  is  to  be  inferred  is  the  divisions  within  this  subject- 
matter.  The  academic  work  in  any  branch  of  study,  there- 
fore, after  making  clear  the  scope  of  the  subject,  infers 
from  the  nature  of  the  creative  activity  the  divisions  and 
sub-divisions  belonging  to  the  subject-matter,  carrying  such 
down  to  the  particulars. 

Relative  Importance. — It  is  the  function  of  academic  work 
to  investigate  the  relative  importance  of  divisions,  sub-divi- 
sions, and  particulars.  This  is  the  third  inference.  The 
general  knowledge  of  the  subject  and  these  four  specific 
lines  of  investigation  may  be  said  to  belong  to  the  field  of 
scholarship.  Scholarship  does  not,  however,  as  a  rule,  de- 
vote itself  to  the  special  topics  mentioned.  It  accepts  the 
scope,  divisions,  etc.,  from  tradition  or  imposes  them  exter- 
nally. It  does  not  develop  them  from  the  organizing  prin- 
ciple. The  fact  that  academic  work  is  of  this  nature,  prac- 
tically transfers  these  four  topics  to  method. 

SUBJECTIVE    METHOD. 

The  Mental  Steps. — In  academic  investigation  the  sub- 
ject-matter is  assumed  to  be  a  fact  distinct  from  the  ex- 
amining mind;  but  as  just  stated  there  constantly  arises  a 
peculiar  set  of  questions,  such  as,  What  is  the  relative  value 
of  this  division  compared  with  that?  Of  this  sub-division 
compared  with  that?  Of  this  particular  compared  with 
that?  Then  it  becomes  evident  that  there  is  a  factor  to  be 
considered  over  against  all  this  with  which  scholarship  has 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  21 

seemed  to  concern  itself,  and  this  factor  is  the  mind  which 
is  to  do  the  investigating.  When  one  says,  "What  is  the 
relative  value  of  this  fact  as  compared  with  that?"  he 
evidently  means  the  relative  value  to  the  investigator,  aris- 
ing from  making  subjective,  from  making  an  element  of  his 
consciousness,  this  fact,  as  compared  with  doing  the  same 
with  that  fact.  V/hen  this  inquiry  arises,  one  begins  to 
pass  from  the  realm  of  scholarship  over  into  the  real 
province  of  method.  For  in  such  inquiry  what  is  hinted? 
A  second  activity,  a  new  activity.  The  activity  that  pro- 
duces any  fact  in  the  subject  of  botany  may  be  termed  the 
objective  method  in  botany.  But  here  is  another  activity, 
the  activity  which  renders  this  fact  of  botany  subjective  to 
the  inquiring  mind;  the  activity  which  transmutes  the  ex- 
ternal fact  of  botany  into  self,  into  consciousness. 

This  activity  is  distinctive,  that  is,  the  act  of  conscious- 
ness which  transmutes  a  fact  of  botany  into  self,  has  distin- 
guishing marks  that  set  it  off  from  the  activity  which  ren- 
ders a  fact  of  geology  an  element  of  consciousness.  The 
activity  that  produces  a  fact  in  the  subject  of  physics,  is  the 
objective  method  in  physics;  but  the  activity  of  the  in- 
quiring mind  necessary  to  make  this  fact  of  physics  sub- 
jective, necessary  to  make  it  an  element  of  self,  of  conscious- 
ness, is  the  subjective  method  in  physics. 

Every  branch  of  study,  therefore,  has  both  its  objective 
and  its  subjective  method.  The  objective  method  is  the 
activity,  energy,  or  force  that  produces  the  various  individ- 
uals that  constitute  its  subject-matter.  The  subjective 
method  is  the  activity  of  mind  necessary  to  transmute  into 
the  self  any  one  of  these  facts  of  the  subject-matter.  The 
investigation  of  this  subjective  method,  is  within  the  real 
province  of  method.  For  example,  the  activity  that  pro- 
duces the  various  facts  in  the  subject  of  botany  is  the  ob- 
jective method  in  botany,  and  is  within  the  realm  of  scholar- 


22  THE  PROBUJM  OF  METHOD. 

ship.  The  scope  of  the  facts  determined  is  also  in  the 
realm  of  scholarship ;  as  are  likewise  the  divisions,  the  sub- 
divisions and  the  distinctions  and  unities  of  the  particulars. 
But  the  nature  of  the  activity  that  the  mind  performs  in 
mastering  any  one  of  these  facts,  and  the  relative  value  of 
the  divisions  and  sub-divisions  of  facts,  because  of  the  na- 
ture of  this  mental  activity,  these  things  are  in  the  real 
province  of  method. 

When  in  the  subject  of  method,  one  has  determined  the 
essential  nature  of  this  conscious  activity  put  forth  by  the 
inquiring  mind  in  mastering  a  fact  of  the  subject,  two  im- 
portant inferences,  may  be  made.  These  inferences  belong 
also  to  the  real  province  of  method,  and  the  examination  of 
the  things  inferred  falls  likewise  within  that  province. 
What  are  the  things  to  be  inferred  from  the  nature  of  the 
mind's  activity  in  mastering  a  fact  of  a  given  subject? 

Mental  Effects. — The  first  is  the  effect  produced  upon  the 
mind  by  thinking  this  fact,  by  identifying  itself  with  it. 
This  effect  appears  first  as  a  definite  mental  process,  a  cer- 
tain habitude  of  mind  which  the  given  subject  alone  is  fitted 
to  establish.  For  example,  in  language  the  definite  mental 
process  begins  with  the  conceiving  of  an  object.  The  mind 
may  first  seize  the  object  in  sense-perception,  memory, 
imagination,  but  it  ends  by  conceiving  it,  by  generalizing  it. 
The  next  movement  is  the  forming  of  a  purpose  to  express 
the  object  to  another.  Thereupon,  the  mind  images  the 
expression  and  then  contemplates  the  harmony,  or  corre- 
spondence between  the  object  to  be  expressed  and  the  ex- 
pression. No  subject  other  than  language  is  fitted  to  estab- 
lish just  this  habitude,  just  this  mental  process.  This  may 
be  termed  the  language  act. 

There  is  also  the  historical  act.  In  such  an  act  the  mind 
first  conceives  the  disposition,  the  mental  condition  of  the 
people.  This  is  succee4ed  by  the  consideration  of  the  event 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 


23 


or  object  produced  by  this  condition  of  the  minds  of  the 
people.  In  the  third  place  the  mind  becomes  aware  of  the 
new  disposition,  of  the  new  mental  state  belonging  to  the 
people  as  produced  by  the  creation  and  the  contemplation 
of  this  event.  In  the  historical  act,  then,  any  event,  as  for 
example,  the  Civil  War,  appears  as  the  result  of  a  certain 
state  of  mind  in  the  people  ;  and  as  a  stimulus  to  a  succeed- 
ing result  in  their  minds.  To  conceive  a  certain  state  of  the 
public  mind,  to  apprehend  this  as  taking  shape  in  some 
event  or  statute,  to  seize  the  new  state  of  the  public  mind 
as  an  effect  of  contemplating  this  event  or  statute,  is  the 
peculiar  mental  process  in  the  subject  of  history.  This  cen- 
tral effect,  this  essential  process  belonging  to  every  subject, 
is  one  of  the  effects  to  be  studied.  The  determination  of 
the  exact  nature  of  this  effect  in  relation  to  any  given  sub- 
ject, belongs  to  the  real  province  of  method. 

Under  effect  is  to  be  noted  also  the  emotional  response. 
In  history  there  arises  an  interest  in  the  state  of  the  public 
mind,  in  the  event  to  be  produced  thereby,  and  in  the  reflex 
influence  of  this  event.  Just  the  nature  of  this,  the  various 
opportunities  that  life  affords  for  its  play,  and  its  value 
compared  with  the  knowledge  of  specific  gravity  and  with 
other  ideas  and  emotions  —  the  discussion  of  all  such  things 
belongs  under  the  real  province  of  method.  It  would  per- 
tain to  the  subject  of  method  to  determine  the  main  and  the 
subordinate  emotions  to  be  awakened  by  the  study  of  Dick- 
ens 's  ''Hard  Times,"  by  the  study  of  "Evangeline,"  by  the 
perusal,  in  Dante's  "Divine  Comedy,"  of  the  lines  setting 
forth  the  condition  of  the  angry  and  the  sullen.  The 
sions  in  life  affording  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of 
feelings  and  the  relative  value  of  such  mental  states  com- 
pared with  a  knowledge  of  cube  root,  with  a  knowledge  of 
the  surface  of  the  United  States,  etc.,  would  belong  in  the 
realm  of  method. 


24  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

A  third  thing  to  be  noted  under  effect  is  the  volitional 
development,  the  tendency  to  a  prompt  and  decisive  choice, 
and  to  persistence  in  that  choice.  It  would  belong  to  the 
subject  of  method  to  determine  just  what  tendencies  toward 
choice  and  toward  perseverance  in  a  given  course  would  be 
awakened  and  stimulated  by  a  study  of  the  condition  of 
the  inhabitants  in  the  vestibule  to  the  Inferno,  by  a  study 
of  Tito,  in  George  Eliot's  "Romola,"  as  an  example  of 
fixation  of  character,  by  a  study  of  Taylor's  persistence 
in  the  Mexican  "War,  and  Grant 's  in  the  Civil  War.  Method 
would  also  seek  to  determine  the  various  occasions  in  life 
that  would  call  for  prompt  choosing  and  persistence,  and 
the  value  of  such  mental  traits  along  with  those  arising  from 
the  study  of  book-keeping,  compound  numbers,  etc. 

In  method,  then,  occurs  the  examination  and  valuation 
of  the  entire  realm  of  effects  produced  upon  the  self  in  its 
mastery  of  the  facts  of  any  subject.  In  this  is  seen  the 
value  to  the  teacher  arising  from  a  study  of  such  subjects  as 
aesthetics,  ethics,  logic,  psychology  and  philosophy. 

The  main  mental  process  in  mastering  a  subject  gives  the 
key  to  the  relative  educational  value  as  a  subject,  its  value 
as  a  subject  compared  with  other  subjects. 

Means. — The  second  thing  to  be  inferred  from  the  main 
mental  process  employed  in  mastering  a  given  subject,  is' 
the  means,  devices,  or  instrumentalities  appropriate  to  the 
direction  and  stimulation  of  this  mental  process,  appro- 
priate to  the  awakening  and  fixing  of  the  mental  effects 
naturally  belonging  to  the  subject.  This  includes  a  con- 
sideration of  the  teacher  himself,  the  range  of  his  scholar- 
ship, his  disposition,  the  trend  of  his  sympathies,  the  har- 
mony of  his  character,  his  industry,  his  quickness  of  insight, 
his  ability  as  a  questioner,  his  spirit  as  an  enquirer,  and 
of  the  relation  of  all  these  qualities  to  the  stimulating  and 
directing  of  the  mental  process  in  the  learner.  Under  this 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  25 

topic  is  included  not  only  the  determining  of  the  devices, 
but  also  the  deciding  of  the  order  of  their  employment  and 
the  grounds  therefor. 

It  seems,  therefore,  that  to  every  branch  of  study  belong- 
not  only  an  objective  method,  or  the  activity  which  creates 
the  individuals  of  the  subject-matter,  a  scope  or  range  of  the 
subject-matter,  various  divisions,  sub-divisions,  and  at- 
tributes of  distinction  and  unity  in  the  particulars ;  but  also 
a  subjective  method,  viz.,  the  mental  activity  involved  in 
mastering  any  fact  of  the  subject-matter,  together  with  the 
effects,  relative  value  and  instrumentalities  to  be  inferred 
therefrom. 

The  real  province  of  scholarship  includes  all  that  pertains 
to  the  objective  method  and  its  inferences;  and  the  real 
province  of  method  includes  all  found  in  the  subjective 
method  and  the  inferences  essentially  involved  therein. 

Usually,  however,  in  pedagogical  schools,  the  process  of 
discovering  the  organizing  principle  of  the  branch  of  study 
and  the  internal  organization  of  the  subject  from  its  or- 
ganizing principle,  thereby  revealing  as  developments  from 
this  principle  the  scope,  the  divisions  and  sub-divisions,  and 
the  relative  importance  of  divisions,  sub-divisions  and  facts, 
has  to  be  assumed  as  an  element  of  pedagogical  training,  be- 
cause scholarship  has  often  approached  the  branch  of  study 
from  the  outside,  ignoring  its  internal  development.  It  is 
not  infrequent  that  the  presence  of  any  one  organizing  prin- 
ciple is  denied  or  that  the  value  of  knowing  it  is  questioned, 
even  if  the  subject  be  admitted  to  possess  such  a  principle. 
How  a  branch  of  study  can  be  a  science  except  on  the  condi- 
tion that  a  single  organizing  principle  unifies  all  of  its  facts 
is  not  clear.  Nor  is  it  clear  why  the  discovery  of  this 
principle  and  the  genetic  organization  of  the  subject  from 
it  is  not  the  predominant  trend  of  work  after  the  student 
has  the  elementary  knowledge  of  the  facts  of  the  subject. 


26  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


SPECIAL  METHOD. 

The  clearest  idea  as  to  the  nature  of  method  arises  prob- 
ably, from  an  examination  of  the  process  in  a  particular  act 
of  learning.  The  general  aspect  of  this  appears  as  the 
fundamental  movement  of  consciousness.  This  fundamen- 
tal movement  is  essentially  threefold,  but  it  may  be  viewed 
as  consisting  of  four  phases,  inasmuch  as  iteration^  result- 
ing in  instinctive  habit  may  close  the  threefold  movement. 
The  process  is  not,  however,  four  acts;  it  is  a  united  activ- 
ity consisting  of  three  phases  and  a  repetition  of  these. 

The  four  aspects  of  the  process  of  learning  are : 

1.  Becoming  aware  of  the  object  being  studied  as  an  un- 
differentiated  unity.     In  this  phase  the  mind  apprehends 
the  distinctions  belonging  to  the  object  dimly,  in  the  form 
of  feeling,  as  it  were.    The  truth  of  the  object  is  present  to 
the  mind  as  a  mere  presentiment.*     This  any  one  can  dis- 
cover by  examining  with  care  the  state  of  mind  belonging 
to  him  when  first  giving  attention  to  any  strange  object. 

2.  Knowing  clearly  the  distinctions  in  the  object,  re- 
garding each  one  as  isolated. 

As  the  first  was  the  state  of  immediacy,  the  paradisaical 
condition  of  undisturbed  harmony,  so  this  second  phase  is 
the  stage  of  negation,  limit,  determination.  In  the  first 
a  dim  synthesis  was  made.  In  this  clear  analysis  appears. 

*In  regard  to  presentiment  as  a  first  phase  in  knowledge,  see  Pewey's  Psychplr 
pgy,  pp.  306-307. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  27 

The  mind  has  passed  from  the  simple  state  of  para- 
dise into  that  of  discord,  opposition,  difference.  The  self 
being  essentially  a  unity  is,  therefore,  dissatisfied  with  this 
diversity,  and  hence  seeks  unity — not,  however,  the  undis- 
turbed unity  of  the  first  phase. 

3.  Discriminating  the  isolated  elements,  inferring  the 
dominant  characteristic  and  organizing  all  the  other  ele- 
ments according  to  their  bearing  upon  this  main  attribute. 
Thus  the  mind  returns,  as  it  were,  to  paradise;  but  not  to 
the  paradise  of  immediacy.     This  stage  is,  it  is  manifest, 
one  of  synthesis;  but  since  it  is  a  synthesis  following  clear 
analysis,  it  is  a  much  higher  unity  than  the  one  grasped  in 
the  first  place.     If  paradise  was  lost  in  the  second  phase  of 
the  mind's  process,  it  is  more  than  regained  in  this  third 
stage. 

4.  A  rethinking  of  the  organized  unity  discovered  in 
the  third  phase  under  varying  conditions  and  illustrations, 
until  the  mode  of  activity,  by  passing  into  habit,  becomes  in- 
stinctive and  hence  truly  the  self.    It  thus  appears  that  the 
mind's  method  in  learning  any  object  is  an  activity  consist- 
ing of  four  phases.     It  is  true  that  the  fourth  aspect  could 
succeed  either  the  first  phase  or  the  second,  since  either  of 
these  could  become  habit.     This,  however,  would  be  a  con- 
dition of  arrested  development.    To  avoid  arrested  develop- 
ment the  mind  in  considering  any  object  must  consider  it 
under  the  four  aspects  indicated,  not  permitting  habit  to 
arise  at  the  conclusion  of  either  the  first  or  the  second 
phase.     The  mind  seems  naturally  to  tend  to  examine  any 
object  by  a  concrete  activity  consisting  of  the  four  phases 
indicated.     This  involves  the  assumption  that  every  object 
is  essentially  a  unity  manifesting  various  attributes. 

In  order  to  render  the  knowledge  of  this  fundamental 
process  in  learning  more  definite,  attention  will  be  given  to 
the  assumption  that  every  object  is  a  unity  revealing  itself 


28  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

in  various  attributes.  Let  the  following  sentence  be  re- 
garded as  an  object  or  unity  exhibiting  various  attributes 
and  parts: 

"I  hear  Aztec  priests  upon  their  teocallis 

Beat  the  wild  war  drums  made  of  serpent's  skin." 

This  is  the  object  which  the  mind  is  supposed  to  be  con- 
sidering in  an  act  of  learning.  The  object  is  a  unity  in 
both  form  and  content.  In  content  it  is  a  unity  in  that 
it  expresses  a  single  object,  viz.;  the  person  expressed  by  the 
first  word  as  exhibiting  himself  in  a  given  act.  The  special 
act  is  indicated  by  all  the  sentence  following  the  word  ex- 
pressing the  actor.  In  this  portion  of  the  sentence  there 
is  expressed  a  central  attribute — that  of  hearing.  This  ac- 
tion has  as  its  object  that  denoted  by  all  that  portion  of 
the  sentence  beginning  with  the  word,  "Aztec." 

This  object  of  the  action  expressed  by  the  word,  "hear," 
has  also  its  unity,  namely,  the  mode  of  action  characteristic 
of  the  object  expressed  by  the  word  "priests;"  that  is,  a 
person  who  is  termed  a  priest  is  viewed  as  one  habitually 
revealing  himself  in  a  certain  mode  of  activity.  This  cen- 
tral element  exhibits  or  reveals  itself  in  the  given  case 
through  various  distinctions.  One  of  these  is  expressed  by 
the  word,  ' '  Aztec, ' '  another  by  the  expression,  ' '  upon  their 
teocallis,"  a  third  by  the  expression,  "beat  the  wild  war 
drums  made  of  serpent's  skin."  Each  one  of  the  distinc- 
tions has  further  distinctions  within  it.  All  these  distinc- 
tions, or  at  least  many  of  them,  are  in  sub-consciousness 
during  the  first  stage  in  the  act  of  learning. 

In  the  first  phase  of  the  mind's  method  in  learning,  it 
apprehends  the  entire  object  practically  as  an  undifferenti- 
ated  or  fused  unity.  The  distinctions  are  merely  felt,  they 
are  not  clearly  comprehended.  Out  of  this  stage  of  dim 
knowledge  the  mind  passes  naturally  into  the  second,  that 
of  clear  distinction.  The  tendency  in  the  stage  of  distinc- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  29 

tion  is  to  be  quite  complete  in  the  analysis.  Each  element 
is  isolated  in  thought,  becoming  a  distinct  thing  to  the  self. 
Isolation  as  a  finality,  however,  is  distasteful  to  the  mind. 
The  ego,  therefore,  by  its  own  impulse,  passes  into  the 
third  stage,  that  of  organization.  This  third  stage  in 
which  the  self  becomes  aware  of  the  object  as  an  organized 
or  mediated  unity  is  changed  by  repetition  into  enlightened 
feeling.* 

The  mind 's  process  in  learning  may  be  illustrated  further 
with  the  scalene  triangle  as  an  object.  It  will  be  advan- 
tageous to  indicate,  before  considering  the  act  of  learning 
itself,  the  characteristics  of  the  object. 

Among  its  distinctions  these  are  found,  its  surface,  its 
three  sides,  its  inequality  of  sides,  its  inequality  of  an- 
gles, its  having  no  right  angle,  one  angle  larger  than  a  right 
angle,  two  angles  smaller  than  a  right  angle,  its  possessing 
the  attribute  of  differing  from  an  isosceles  triangle,  etc. 
All  these  distinctions  and  the  others  that  are  present  are 
to  the  learner  unknown.  In  rendering  this  object  subjec- 
tive, the  first  phase  of  the  mind's  process  is  that  in  which 
it  apprehends  it  indistinctly,  as  a  whole.  In  this  stage  its 
differentiations  are  but  dimly  felt,  the  learner  having 
merely  a  presentiment  of  them. 

Through  dwelling  upon  the  object,  however,  the  mind 
gradually  becomes  aware  of  all  the  various  distinctions,  and 
in  obedience  to  its  analytic  tendency  these  distinctions  are 
strictly  isolated.  Therefore  division  or  negation  becomes  too 
prominent.  By  continuing  to  examine  the  object  the  mind 
is  led  to  seek  unity.  Through  the  acts  of  discovering  and 
isolating  the  predominant  attribute  and  relating  the  other 
characteristics  to  this  central  one,  the  mind  organizes  the 
object.  Thus  the  object  becomes  truly  a  unity  to  the  self. 

*A  helpful  reference  to  enlightened  feeling  maybe  found  on  p.  249  of  "Introduc- 
tion to  the  Stndy  of  Philosophy,"  by  W.  T.  Harris. 


30  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

Continued  attention  to  it  in  this  aspect,  results  in  habit. 
In  becoming  habit  the  activity  is  transformed  into  feeling, 
and  since  clear  analysis  has  preceded  it,  the  feeling  is  en- 
lightened. 

This  fourfold  process  of  the  mind  may  be  still  further 
illustrated  by  an  object  from  literature : 

THE  BUGLE  SONG. 

1.  The  splendor  falls  on  castle  walls. 

And  snowy  summits  old  in  story ; 
The  long  light  shakes  across  the  lakes, 
And  the  wild  cataract  leaps  in  glory. 

Blow,  bugle,  blow!  set  the  wild  echoes  flying! 
Blow  bugle!  answer,  echoes!  dying,  dying,  dying. 

2.  O  hark!  O  hear,  how  thin  and  clear, 

And  thinner,  clearer,  farther  going! 
O  sweet  and  far,  from  cliff  and  scar, 
The  horns  of  Elf-land  faintly  blowing! 

Blow!  let  us  hear  the  purple  glens  replying. 
Blow,  bugle!  answer  echoes!  dying,  dying,  dying. 

3.  O  love,  they  die  in  yon  rich  sky, 

They  faint  on  hill,  or  field,  or  river; 
Our  echoes  roll  from  soul  to  soul, 
And  grow  forever  and  forever. 

Blow,  bugle,  blow!  set  the  wild  echoes  flying! 
And  answer,  echoes,  answer!  dying,  dying,  dying. 

— From  "The  Princess"  Tennyson. 

This  object  may  be  assumed  to  exist  as  a  unity  manifest- 
ing itself  in  a  great  variety  of  distinctions.  At  first,  how- 
ever, these  distinctions  are  concealed  from  the  learner. 
The  poem  is  apprehended  as  a  whole ;  its  central  unity  and 
all  the  variety  of  distinctions  are  grasped  dimly;  they  are 
merely  felt,  that  is,  the  mind  possesses  a  presentiment  of 
their  existence. 

Before  noticing  the  mind's  fundamental  process  as  re- 
vealed in  the  act  of  studying  "The  Bugle  Song,"  a  partial 
indication  of  the  distinctions  involved  in  it  may  be  given: 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  31 

There  is,  first,  the  distinction  into  expression  and  content. 
The  expression  is  distinguished  into  language  and  image. 
The  content  may  be  separated  into  central  thought  and  pur- 
pose. The  language,  as  a  form  of  literature,  has  in  it  many 
distinctions.  Leaving  them  for  later  consideration,  some 
of  the  distinctions  under  the  image  may  be  noted : 

1.  There  is,  first,  the  physical  background.    One  element 
of  this  is  expressed  by, '  *  The  splendor  falls  on  castle  walls  " ; 
others  by  "Snowy  summits  old  in  story,"  "The  long  light 
shakes  across  the  lakes, "  "  The  wild  cataract  leaps  in  glory, ' ' 
"the  purple  glens,"  "on  hill,  or  field,  or  river,"  "yon  rich 
sky."    All  these  constitute  a  physical  background  for  the 
physical  echo. 

2.  A  second  element  is,  therefore,  the  physical  echo. 
This  is  an  element  in  the  complex  image  of  the  bugler, 
bugle,  the  act  of  blowing,  and  the  flying  of  "the  wild 
echoes. ' '    Within  these  distinctions  subordinate  characteris- 
tics are  found:  The  echoes  become  "thin  and  clear";  they 
are  "sweet  and  far,"  resembling  the  "horns  of  Elf -land," 
etc. 

All  these,  however,  constituting  the  physical  echo,  seem 
to  be  employed  as  a  symbol  of  some  spiritual  activity ;  some 
human  deed.  This  introduces  the  central  thought. 

3.  The  conception  of  the  central  thought  involves  the 
distinction  between  the  good  deed  and  the  evil  deed.    The 
beauty  of  the  external  background,  and  of  the  physical  echo 
are  in  harmony,  not  with  the  evil  deed,  but  with  the  good 
deed ;  hence  this  distinction  of  harmony  is  involved.    There 
are  reasons  for  holding  that  evil  deeds  cannot  "grow  for- 
ever and  forever."     However  this  may  be,  the  author,  as 
indicated  by  the  beauty  of  the  physical  setting  he  has  em- 
ployed, seems  to  have  in  mind  the  good  deeds  only.    In  this 
spiritual  activity  are  involved  three  distinctions : 

It  affects  person  after  person. 


32  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

It  becomes  more  prominent,  important,  and  sub- 
stantial, as  it  passes  from  consciousness  to  conscious- 
ness. Herein  is  involved  a  further  distinction,  namely,  the 
difference  of  the  spiritual  echo  and  the  physical  echo,  as 
to  growth  and  endurance.  The  purpose  of  the  writer  also 
appears  as  a  distinction,  the  central  one. 

It  affects  the  producer. 

From  the  mind  of  the  learner,  however,  all  these  distinc- 
tions are  concealed.  In  the  study  of  the  poem  he  reads  it 
through  and  thus  becomes  aware  of  it  indistinctly  as  a 
whole.  His  apprehension  of  its  central  meaning  and  pur- 
pose, and  of  all  the  other  distinctions,  is  dim.  They  are 
present  to  the  mind  in  presentiment  only.  This  first  phase 
is  natural,  however. 

Out  of  this  presentiment  the  mind  passes  into  that  phase 
in  which  it  becomes  distinctly  aware  of  all  the  attributes  in 
the  object.  The  attributes  of  distinction,  however,  are  to 
be  limited  to  the  object  as  literature. 

Rising  out  of  this  phase  of  differentiation,  the  mind  passes 
into  the  stage  of  organized  unifying.  The  poem  has  now 
become  a  true  unity  to  the  learner. 

Through  repetition  of  the  act  of  thinking  the  poem  as  an 
organized  unity,  the  activity  becomes  a  habit.  This  is  a 
return  to  feeling,  but  it  is  now  enlightened  feeling.  The 
poem  has  finally  become  the  learner's  own,  and  he  is,  in  a 
certain  respect,  the  poem.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  this  fourth 
phase  is  merely  the  third  in  a  more  permanent  form. 

It  is  not  strange  that  the  mind  exhibits  these  three  stages 
in  the  mastery  of  any  truth,  since  the  ego  is  itself  essen- 
tially a  mode  of  activity  characterized  by  these  three  ele- 
ments. It  exists  first  as  undifferentiated,  as  a  mere  poten- 
tiality for  activity.  Acting,  it  differentiates  itself  from 
itself,  and  exists  as  object.  The  mind  is  always  its  own 
object.  This  is  the  second  phase  of  its  existence.  As  ob- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  80 

ject  it  is  distinct  from  itself  as  subject.  Continued  exam- 
ination of  itself  as  object,  however,  shows  that  this  object 
is  the  subject. 

Having  previously  illustrated  the  three  stages  of  mental 
action- (regarding  the  fourth  phase  as  merely  the  repetition 
or  retention  of  the  third)  it  is  now  of  importance  to  notice: 

1.  That  there  is  a  partial  identity  between  the  first  phase 
in  learning  an  object,  namely,  apprehending  it  indistinctly, 
and  the  act  of  being  engrossed  with  the  material  and  consid- 
ering the  material,  i.  e.,  space-occupying  objects,  to  be  the  all 
in  all.    Being  engrossed  with  the  material  is  not,  however, 
fully  identical  with  the  first  phase  of  the  mind's  movement, 
because  this  first  phase  includes  also  failure  to  distinguish 
the  varying  attributes  in  the  object.    This,  however,  is  to  be 
noticed :  each  object  is  material  and  spirit,  or  meaning. 
The  human  being  is  material  and  spirit ;  the  transom  above 
the  door  is  material  and  spirit,  or  meaning.     The  driver 
wheel  on  an  engine  is  material  and  spirit,  or  meaning.     It 
therefore  follows  that  to  be  engrossed  with  the  material, 
considering  it  to  be  the  all  in  all,  is,  to  a  degree,  identical 
with  grasping  a  thing  dimly. 

2.  That  the  concentration  of  the  attention  on  the  spirit- 
ual element  as  the  all  in  all,  is  to  a  certain  extent,  identical 
with  the  second  stage  in  the  mind 's  fundamental  movement. 
To  thus  consider  spirit  is  to  isolate  it.     The  true  position  is 
reached  when  neither  the  material  nor  the  spiritual  is  re- 
garded as  the  total.     The  truth  is  found  in  the  unity  of 
both.    To  exalt  the  physical  is  to  dwell  in  the  first  phase  of 
thought.     To  isolate  and  exalt  the  spiritual  is  to  dwell  in 
the  second  phase,  in  the  phase  of  isolation,  of  negation. 
The  reason  that  this  is  termed  isolation  while  the  first  is 
not,  is  that  it  requires  distinction  or  analysis,  to  discover 
the  spiritual. 


34  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

3.  That  the  third  stage  is  to  a  degree,  identical  with  the 
process  of  discovering  the  deeper  unity  which  is  seen  to  be 
the  source  or  origin  of  both  the  physical  and  the  spiritual. 

Both  experience  and  history  show  that  these  three  phases 
are  true,  as  to  the  child  and  as  to  the  race. 

In  religion,  for  example,  when  a  people  is  substan- 
tially in  the  first  phase  of  thought,  it  finds  its  gods  in  ex- 
ternal nature.  When  in  the  second  phase  it  finds  its  gods 
in  alienation  from  nature.  Thus  while  the  hills  smoked 
and  trembled  in  the  presence  of  the  Jehovah  of  the  Jews, 
he  does  not  appear  as  in  unity  with  the  physical  universe; 
while  ruling  over  it  he  is  foreign  to  it.  It  does  not  reveal 
him. 

The  third  stage  in  the  growth  of  religious  thought  discov- 
ers as  its  God  a  fundamental  unity,  an  activity  which  is 
revealed  both  in  everything  spiritual  and  in  everything 
physical. 

In  philosophy,  the  same  is  found  to  be  true.  In  the 
first  phase  of  thought  the  first  principle  of  the  universe  was 
found  to  be  chaos,  moisture,  fire,  air,  and  the  like.  In  the 
second  phase  the  spiritual  was  more  prominent.  Its  won- 
derful properties  were  exalted  and  regarded  as  the  criterion. 
Thus  the  sophists  found  the  individual  spirit  of  man  to  be 
the  measure  of  all  things.  When,  however,  philosophy 
reached  the  third  stage  of  thought,  Socrates  discovered  that 
the  characteristic  which  makes  man  the  measure  of  all 
things  is  not  his  particularity.  It  is  the  divine  element  in 
him,  in  all  other  human  beings,  and  in  the  Absolute  Spirit. 
In  this  third  stage  of  philosophy  unity  became  prominent, 
because  the  first  principle  was  regarded  as  the  source  of 
everything  spiritual  and  physical,  and  as  revealed  in  them. 

In  history  this  same  truth  is  shown.  In  the  first 
phase  of  thought  the  events  are  regarded  as  the  history. 
This  is  abstract  or  partial.  In  the  second  phase  a  deeper 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  35 

view  is  gained.  The  feelings,  purposes  and  thoughts  of  the 
people  underlying  these  outside  acts  are  regarded  as  his- 
tory. This  view  is  also  abstract  or  partial.  The  spiritual 
is  no  more  truly  the  man  than  are  his  objectifications.  The 
property  that  one  has  acquired  is  will  objectified.  Any  work 
of  art,  is  in  a  sense  the  artist.  Any  historical  or  scien- 
tific work  given  to  the  world  is  the  producer.  Therefore 
the  concrete,  i.  e.,  the  complete  view  in  history,  is  not 
reached  until  one  enters  upon  the  third  stage  of  thought. 
In  this  stage  those  concrete  productions  known  as  the  insti- 
tutions, viewed  as  produced  by  man's  spiritual  growth 
toward  freedom  and  as  reacting  upon  man  are  the  history. 
Thus  it  is  with  everything.  For  example,  the  physical 
constituents  and  form  of  the  door  key  are  not  the  key. 
The  view  that  they  are  is  abstract,  and  hence  incomplete. 
The  thought  of  the  door  key  is  not  the  door  key.  This 
view  is  also  abstract  and  incomplete.  The  thought  of  the 
door  key  revealed  in  a  particular  way,  that  is,  its  two 
sides  taken  as  a  concrete  unity,  constitutes  the  door  key. 
This  same  process  which  has  manifested  itself  in  the  growth 
of  religion,  philosophy,  and  history,  reveals  itself  in  the 
growth  of  the  conception  of  method.  It  is  natural  that  the 
method  in  any  subject  should  be  found  in  this  fundamental 
movement  of  mind,  which  is  just  the  mind's  method.  This 
method  of  consciousness  is  not,  however,  the  special  method 
in  any  particular  subject.  The  distinctive  method  in  any 
branch  of  study  is  analogous  to  the  third  stage  of  knowing. 
The  reason  for  this  is  that  special  method  is  a  relation.  For 
example,  method  in  geography  is  not  this  fundamental 
movement  of  mind;  neither  is  it  any  external  mode  of  ac- 
tivity. It  is,  however,  the  fundamental  movement  of  con- 
sciousness specialized  as  it  would  necessarily  be,  in  the 
mind's  act  of  knowing  a  geographical  fact. 

In  its  general  aspect  method  is  geography  in  the  funda- 


36  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

mental  movement  of  mind.  Defined  more  accurately,  it  is 
this  fundamental  movement  modified  by  the  distinctive  kind 
of  subject-matter  belonging  to  geography.  In  summariz- 
ing, it  may  be  said  that  method  is  at  first  conceived  as  some- 
thing external,  as  a  mode  of  physical  action,  as  a  series  of 
actions,  consisting  of  directions,  questions,  illustrations,  ex- 
planations, etc,  since  such  actions  bear  a  certain  relation 
to  the  method  itself,  and  are  more  easily  noticed  than  the 
underlying  method.  As  above  noted,  the  universal  ten- 
dency in  the  infancy  of  thought,  is  to  be  engrossed  with  the 
external  aspect  of  a  thing,  and  to  consider  this  external  as- 
pect as  the  thing  itself.  This  is,  however,  an  abstract  or 
incomplete  view.  The  tendency  to  note  the  external  aspect 
when  in  the  lower  stages  of  development,  is  no  more  a  uni- 
versal mark,  however,  than  is  the  tendency  to  note  the  in- 
ternal or  spiritual  aspect  in  the  second  stage,  and  to  con- 
sidered it  as  an  isolated  thing,  and  as  the  whole.  To  center 
attention  on  the  spiritual  aspect  in"  its  generality,  viewing 
it  as  if  it  were  the  total  object,  is,  as  above  noted,  also  ab- 
stract. This  incomplete  mode  of  regarding  the  spiritual 
is  illustrated  by  such  expressions  as,  ' '  The  method  in  arith- 
metic is  abstraction  and  generalization,"  "The  method  in 
studying  a  botanical  object  is  inductive."  The  more  con- 
crete activity  of  mind  is  the  tendency  to  seek  a  fundamental 
or  underlying  unity  in  the  two  incomplete  aspects  discov- 
ered in  the  first  two  stages  of  development,  each  in  its 
turn  being  considered  as  complete,  as  the  whole. 

These  three  tendencies  (including  under  the  third,  habit, 
or  enlightened  feeling  made  instinctive)  marking  the  three 
stages  of  development  in  the  race  and  in  the  individual  are, 
as  above  indicated,  mere  exhibitions  of  the  essence  of  con- 
sciousness. The  very  nature  of  consciousness  is : 

a.     To  exist  as  mere  energy,  as  potential,  as  immediate. 
(Subject.) 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  37 

b.  To  exist  as  object,  as  alienation,  as  other  than  the 
knowing  subject.     (Object.)     This  arises  in  the  stage  of 
distinction  or  clear  analysis,  in  which  each  analyzed  ele- 
ment is  conceived  as  if  it  were  independent. 

c.  To  exist  as  subject-object. 

The  activity  which  at  first  was  conceived  as  object,  as 
alien,  is  now  seen  to  be  the  knower  as  well  as  the  known. 
True  unity  now  appears.  This  is  the  stage  of  differentiated 
unity.  The  three  stages  of  conceiving  as  external,  as  in- 
ternal, and  as  the  unity  of  the  external  and  internal,  are  an 
exhibition  of  what  has  been  termed  the  fundamental  process 
of  mind.  This  process  limited  to  knowledge  is, 

a.  Apprehending  the  object  indistinctly. 

b.  Analyzing  it  into  its  elements  and  emphasizing 
each  element  as  if.it  were  unrelated. 

c.  Organizing,  i.  e.,  discovering  the  unity  of  these 
elements. 

Method  is  found  in  the  relation  of  the  facts  of  the  sub- 
ject to  the  fundamental  process  of  knowing. 

A  fact  in  a  subject  is  one  element  of  the  subject  with  a 
certain  attribute  of  it  emphasized  according  to  the  mind's 
interest.  More  definitely,  then,  method  is  the  fundamen- 
tal movement  of  mind  in  the  examination  of  an  object  with 
reference  to  a  given  attribute  that  has  been  exalted  and  em- 
phasized by  the  mind's  interest.  The  method  of  a  subject, 
then,  is  always  one  and  the  same.  Method  as  a  process 
does  not  change.  Our  conception  of  what  method  is, 
changes. 

In  the  first  stage  of  thought  method  is  viewed  as  a  set 
of  external  acts. 

In  the  second  stage  of  thought  the  mind  looks  beneath 
the  series  of  external  acts  and  discovers  the  implied  series 
of  psychological  activities.  These  are  viewed  as  the  method. 


38         THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

Both  of  these  views  are  abstract,  and,  therefore,  incom- 
plete. 

In  the  third  stage  of  thought, 

a.  The  mind  thinks  beneath  each  psychological  activ- 
ity, whether  it  be  sense-perception,  memory,  imagination, 
judgment,  or  any  other,  and  discovers  that  each  is  merely  a 
manifestation    of    the    mind's    fundamental    movement — 
grasping  the  object  dimly,   analyzing  definitely   and   re- 
unifying. 

b.  It  then  examines  the  facts  of  the  subject,  noting  as 
the  essential  thing  the  human  interest  or  purpose  that  gives 
organization  to  the  facts  of  the  subject  by  furnishing  the 
principle  that  makes  the  subject  a  distinct  branch  of  study. 
Herein  is  discovered  the  organizing  idea  of  the  subject. 

c.  The  mind  then  discovers  that  the  process  of  the 
mind  in  learning  the  subject,  i.  e.,  the  special  method  of  the 
subject,  is  just  the  fundamental  movement  of  mind  special- 
ized by  the  peculiar  subject-matter  of  this  branch  of  study. 

Let  arithmetic  be  considered  for  example: 

According  to  the  first  view  the  method  in  arithmetic  is  a 
set  of  external  acts,  as,  placing  a  number  on  the  board  by 
using  a  series  of  dots,  showing  the  number  of  fours  in  the 
dots,  finding  the  relations  within  each  number,  constructing 
in  imagination  concrete  examples  involving  that  number, 
expressing  the  results  in  a  definite  form  on  the  black-board, 
expressing  the  results  orally,  etc. 

According  to  the  second  view  the  method  in  arithmetic 
is  some  general  psychological  activity,  as  analysis,  synthe- 
sis, deduction,  abstraction,  generalization,  etc. 

According  to  the  third  view  the  method  in  arithmetic  is 
the  fundamental  movement  of  mind  concerned  with  the  fol- 
lowing kind  of  an  object :  A  number  or  activity  viewed  as 
measurer  or  means,  and  a  number  or  activity  viewed  as 
measured  thing  or  end,  that  is,  the  method  in  arithmetic 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  39 

is  the  fundamental  movement  of  mind  concerned  with  ratio. 
This  would  be  elaborated  more  fully  under  special  method 
in  arithmetic. 

The  average  educational  thought  holds  in  general  to  the 
first  conception  of  method.  To  a  slight  extent  the  second 
conception  prevails.  Here  the  attempt  is  to  be  made  to  ex- 
plain the  conception  of  method  which  belongs  to  the  third 
stage  of  thought. 

To  do  this  it  is  necessary  to  set  forth  ( 1 )  the  four  things 
that  lead  up  to  method  as  a  distinctive  thing,  central  prin- 
ciple, scope,  divisions,  sub-divisions,  and  facts,  relative 
importance.  (2)  Method  as  a  distinctive  act.  (3)  The 
two  things  resulting  from  method — mental  effects  and  de- 
vices. 

In  beginning  to  treat  more  fully  the  different  views  of 
method,  certain  expressions  indicating  the  prevailing  idea 
as  to  what  method  is  culled  from  various  sources,  popular, 
educational,  and  pedagogical  are  to  be  presented.  These 
will  be  examined  in  order  to  determine : 

1.  Which  indicate  the  first  stage,  namely,  the  conception 
that  method  is  a  series  of  external  acts. 

2.  Which  indicate  the  second  stage,  namely,  the  con- 
ception that  method  is  a  certain  psychological  activity  in 
general,  as  sense-perception  or  imagination  or  induction— 
a  mere  psychological  activity  unspecialized  by  a  distinctive 
subject-matter. 

3.  Which,  if  any,  hint  or  indicate  definitely  the  third 
conception  as  to  the  nature  of  method. 


40         THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 


CHAPTER  V. 


VARIOUS  USES  OF  THE  TERM  METHOD. 

The  following  wide  range  of  examples  in  the  employment 
of  the  term,  method,  is  given  in  order  to  afford  the  oppor- 
tunity to  give  additional  clearness  to  the  idea  of  method  by 
first,  determining  the  exact  nature  of  the  activity  shown  in 
each  example,  and  then  testing  the  use  of  the  term  by  the 
idea  of  method  developed  in  the  previous  chapters. 

The  student  should,  before  closing  his  work  on  this  chap- 
ter, assure  himself  of  his  ability  to  discover  and  to  express 
the  conception  of  method  in  each  of  the  cases  given.  In 
each  case, 

(1.)     The  presence  of  activity  is  to  be  shown. 
(2.)     This  activity  is  to  be  shown  to  be  regular  and  or- 
derly. 

(3.)     It  is  to  be  shown  as  controlled  by  an  ideal. 
(4.)     It  must  be  noticed  that  the  activity  is  that  of, 
(a.)     The  teacher. 
(b.)     The  pupil  or  learner. 

(c.)  Vocations  outside  of  the  field  of  school  educa- 
tion. 

(5.)     The  activity  of  the  teacher  may  be, 

(a.)  His  external  activity,  as,  his  directions,  ques- 
tions, explanations,  drawings  on  the  black-board,  etc. 

(b.)  His  series  of  psychological  processes  in  knowing 
or  thinking  the  natiire  of  the  object  which  the  pupil  is  to 
learn.  This  series  may  involve  sense-perception,  imagina- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  41 

tion,  judgment,  memory,  conception,  etc.,  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  object  being  studied. 

(c.)  His  fundamental  conscious  process.  This  is  the 
process  which  is  characteristic  of  sense-perception,  memory, 
imagination,  reasoning,  and,  in  fact,  of  every  form  of  con- 
sciousness. It  consists  of  (1)  an  indistinct  awareness  of 
the  object,  which  awareness  may  be  in  the  form  of  sensa- 
tion, sense-perception,  memory,  or  in  the  form  of  any  other 
process  of  knowing,  (2)  a  clear  consciousness  of  all  the 
distinctions  in  the  object,  as,  a  knowledge  of  its  various 
parts  and  attributes  thought  of  as  distinct  or  separate,  (3) 
a  consciousness  of  the  central  meaning  manifested  by  the 
parts  and  attributes,  and  their  order  according  to  the  de- 
gree in  which  they  exhibit  the  central  meaning. 

(6.)  The  activity  of  the  pupil  is  manifested  in  the 
same  three  forms  as  those  given  as  belonging  to  the  teacher. 

(7.)  The  activity  of  the  vocations  referred  to  is  usually 
viewed  and  spoken  of  as  strictly  external  activity  upon 
external  material.  The  psychological  activity  present  is 
not  taken  into  account. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  third  form  of  activity 
as  belonging  to  the  pupil  constitutes  method  according  to 
the  thought  set  forth  in  this  book.  It  is  general  method, 
or  the  universal  process  of  the  self.  This  universal  or  gen- 
eral process  of  the  consciousness  of  the  pupil  as  concerned 
with  a  specific  kind  of  material,  as,  the  surface  of  Florida, 
is  special  method,  according  to  the  present  treatise.  A 
helpful  process  of  analyzing  cases  in  order  to  determine 
the  conception  of  method  held  by  writers  may  be  learned 
by  attending  to  the  following  analysis : 

1.     Case  "1,"  page  48. 

This  indicates  (1)*  that  activity  is  referred  to,  (2)  that 


*  The  numbers  (1),  (2),  (e),  etc.,  refer  in  all  cases  to  the  same  numbers  on 
pages  40-41. 


42  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

it  is  regular  and  orderly,   (3)  that  it  is  controlled  by  an 
ideal,  as  suggested  by  the  word,  "after." 

2.  Case  "2,"  page  48. 

This  case  has  two  illustrations  of  the  use  of  the  term. 
method.  The  first,  "a  method  of  teaching  languages,"  in- 
dicates (1)  that  there  is  an  activity,  (2)  that  it  is  regular 
and  orderly,  (3)  that  it  is  controlled  by  an  ideal,  as,  an 
ideal  in  the  consciousness  of  the  teacher  who  conceived  the 
method  is  implied.  The  expression  also  implies  that  the 
action  denoted  by  it  is  the  external  activity  of  the  teacher. 
(a)  of  (4)  and  of  (5). 

The  second  illustration,  "a  method  of  improving  the 
mind,"  manifests  the  fact  (1)  that  activity  is  denoted,  (2) 
that  it  is  regular  and  orderly,  (3)  that  it  is  controlled  by 
an  ideal,  (4)  that  either  the  external  activity  of  the  teacher 
(a)  of  (4)  and  of  (5)  may  be  referred  to,  or  the  series 
of  activities  of  the  learner  may  be  denoted,  (b)  of  (5). 
That  is,  "a  method  of  improving  the  mind,"  may  ex- 
press the  series  of  questions,  the  readings,  the  prepara- 
tion of  notes,  the  statement  of  plans,  etc.,  a  person  may  em- 
ploy to  improve  the  mind  of  another,  or  to  improve  his 
own  mind.  The  expression  may  also  be  interpreted  to  sig- 
nify the  mental  processes  which  will  produce  in  one's  own 
mind  habits  of  alert  attention,  logical  division,  and  increas- 
ing skill  in  the  search  for  relations. 

3.  Case  "3,  "page  48. 

The  illustration  of  this  case  is  "Though  this  be  mad- 
ness, yet  there  is  method  in  it."  Hamlet  who  had  been 
reported  to  be  mad  appears  in  a  room  of  the  castle  reading. 
Polonius  said, 

What  do  you  read,  my  lord? 

Ham.     Words,  words,  words. 

Pol.     What  is  the  matter,  my  lord? 

Ham.     Between  whom? 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  43 

Pol     I  mean  the  matter  that  you  read,  my  lord. 

Ham.  Slanders,  sir;  for  the  satirical  rogue  says  here 
that  old  men  have  grey  beards,  that  their  faces  are  wrin- 
kled, their  eyes  purging  thick  amber  and  plum-tree  gum, 
and  that  they  have  a  plentiful  lack  of  wit,  together  with 
most  weak  hams:  All  of  which,  sir,  though  I  most  power- 
fully and  potently  believe,  yet  I  hold  it  not  honesty  to 
have  it  thus  set  down;  for  yourself,  sir,  shall  grow  old  as 
I  am,  if  like  a  crab  you  could  go  backward. 

Pol.  (Aside.)  Though  this  be  madness,  yet  there  is 
method  in't. 

It  is  evident  that  this  use  of  the  word,  method,  implies 
(1)  activity,  (2)  a  regular  and  orderly  activity,  and  (3) 
an  activity  controlled  by  an  ideal.  The  activity  does  not 
relate  to  teacher  or  pupil,  (a)  or  (b)  of  (4)  but  rather  to 
an  act  in  another  vocation  (c)  of  (4).  The  word,  method, 
denotes  either  the  systematic  arrangement  of  an  outside 
activity,  i.  e.,  the  replies  of  Hamlet,  their  adaptation  to 
a  purpose,  etc.,  or  it  signifies  the  purpose  in  the  mind  of 
Hamlet.  It  is  as  if  Polonius  said,  "Though  this  be  mad- 
ness, yet  the  speaker  has  a  distinct  purpose  in  such  actions 
and  they  are  well  adapted  to  the  accomplishment  of  the 
end." 

4.     Case  "l,"page  49. 

"Phe  word,  method,  evidently  refers  to  certain  outward 
acts  of  the  bank  officials,  such  as  lending  money  on  in- 
sufficient security,  paying  too  high  a  rate  of  interest,  using 
the  funds  of  the  bank  in  speculative  enterprises,  etc. 

The  term  refers  then  to  an  activity,  (1).  This  activ- 
ity is  regular  and  orderly,  (2)  but  it  is  regular,  orderly 
procedure  in  being  irregular  and  disorderly  in  so  far  as 
banking  principles  are  concerned.  It  is  moreover,  a  series 
of  activities  controlled  by  an  ideal,  (3)  that  is,  by  the  pur- 
pose to  make  financial  gains.  The  method  referred  to  does 


44  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

not  belong  to  teacher  or  pupil  (a)  and  (b)  of  (4),  but  to 
a  vocation  which  does  not  aim  at  education,  although  it 
necessarily  educates,  (c)  of  (4). 

5.     Case  "7,"  page  52. 

The  word  wickedness,  denotes  a  particular  psychological 
act  of  a  person  antagonistic  to  the  accomplishment  of 
the  aim  of  life,  which  aim  may  be  said  to  be  the 
attainment  of  freedom.  Wickedness  may  be  a  series  of 
such  acts  or  a  tendency  toward  the  performance  of  them. 
The  word,  method,  as  here  used  signifies  the  act  of  increase 
in  this  tendency.  The  tendency  so  increases  in  strength 
that  slighter  and  still  slighter  stimuli  are  required  to  in- 
duce wicked  action.  The  term,  method,  indicates,  there- 
fore, an  activity  (1),  an  activity  that  is  regular  and  or^ 
derly,  (2)  an  activity  controlled  by  the  inherent  nature  of 
law  of  the  self,  (3).  This  is  an  ideal,  but  it  is  not  one  of 
which  the  person  is  clearly  conscious.  He  would,  no  doubt, 
be  opposed  to  the  results  of  the  ideal  were  he  conscious  of 
them.  The  ideal  in  this  case  is  more  universal  than  the 
individual.  It  belongs  to  the  inherent  structure  of  human 
nature. 

The  activity  denoted  may  be  that  of  teacher,  pupil  or 
of  a  person  in  other  relations  of  life  (a),  (b)  or  (c)  of 
(4).  The  word,  method,  in  this  use,  indicates  the  funda- 
mental psychological  law  of  the  self,  although  the  author 
of  the  sentence  quoted  may  not  have  conceived  the  activ- 
ity under  the  specific  stages  employed  in  this  book  in  defin- 
ing the  characteristic  process  of  consciousness.  The  essen- 
tials in  the  conception  of  method  in  the  ethical  realm  are 
(1)  the  existence  of  a  tendency  toward  evil,  a  fused,  poten- 
tial condition,  (2)  the  choice  of  the  evil  and  its  perform- 
ance, a  stage  of  separation,  of  distinction,  (3)  the  ceasing 
of  the  evil  act  and  the  return  of  the  peculiar  mode  of 
energy  involved  in  it,  to  the  potential  self  with  a  strength- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 


45 


ened  tendency  toward  the  performance  of  evil  deeds.  This 
conception  of  method  as  found  in  the  ethical  realm  is  es- 
sentially the  notion  of  general  method  as  explained  in  this 
book  (c)  of  (5). 

6.  Case  "15,"  page  54. 

This  is  one  of  the  extreme  forms  of  the  external  use  of 
the  term,  method.  The  word  refers,  of  course,  to  an  ac- 
tivity, (1).  It  also  refers  to  a  regular,  ordered  activity. 
(2).  It  is  an  activity  controlled  by  an  ideal,  that  is,  by 
the  conception  in  the  mind  of  the  launderer.  He  idealized 
and  set  to  work  the  complex,  orderly  process,  involving  ma- 
chines, persons,  chemical  action,  etc.,  known  as  the  laun- 
dering process.  The  activity  referred  to  is  found  in  one 
of  the  vocations  of  the  general  world  of  business.  It  is 
method  only  in  the  sense  that  it  is  activity  regulated  and 
ordered  by  an  ideal. 

7.  Case  "1,"  page  63. 

The  speaker  in  his  address  refers  to  two  kinds  of  activ- 
ity by  the  use  of  the  term,  method,  and  to  another  kind  by 
the  expression,  ' '  knowing  the  Word  of  God. ' ' ' 

The  first  kind  of  activity  is  denoted  by  the  following 
portions  of  the  last  paragraph  on  page  ?:  "Much  is  be- 
ing said,  *  *  *  *  *  but  another  term  for  the  word 
rut." 

The  second  kind  of  activity  is  expressed  by  the  following 
portion  of  the  same  paragraph:  "And  yet  there  must  be 
method.  He  who  works  without  plan  and  aimlessly  will 
find  his  results  without  form,  and  void,  chaotic." 

The  third  kind  of  activity  is  referred  to  on  page  ?  by 
the  phrase,  "to  know  the  Word  of  God,"  and  the  funda- 
mental aspects  of  this  activity  are  denoted  by  the  expres- 
sions, "spiritual  grasp"  and  "intellectual  grasp"  on  the 
same  page. 

The  analysis  of  the  "intellectual  grasp"  is  given  on 


46  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

pages  65-72  and  a  general  summary  of  the  intellectual 
process  is  presented  on  page  73. 

The  first  kind  of  activity  is  termed  method  distinctly  by 
the  speaker.  He  regards  the  activity  (1),  as  regular  and 
orderly  (2),  but  evidently  as  not  controlled  by  an  ideal 
(3),  at  least,  not  by  a  rational  ideal.  The  activity  is  re- 
garded as  the  external  mode  of  procedure  by  the  learner 
engaged  in  the  study  of  the  Bible,  and  this  learner  is  con- 
sidered to  be  his  own  teacher,  (a)  of  (5).  This  activity 
is  thought  to  be  very  mechanical,  very  external,  and  hence, 
as  alien  to  the  subject  matter,  and  to  the  spiritual  nature 
of  the  learner.  Method  is  assumed  by  the  speaker  to  be 
a  special  device,  a  particular  external  mode  of  work  which 
reflects  merely  the  idiosyncracy,  the  whim  of  the  worker. 
He,  therefore,  regards  method  as  an  external  mode  of  pro- 
cedure adapted  to  one  person  only,  and  as  limiting  the  in- 
dependence of  others.  In  the  early  stages  of  education 
such  external  processes  were  regarded  as  the  method  of 
the  teacher,  but  they  have  long  since  been  relegated  to 
the  realm  of  superficial  devices. 

The  second  kind  of  activity  is  also  named  method  by  the 
speaker.  It  is  regarded  as  activity  (1),  which  is  regular 
and  orderly  (2),  and  which  is,  moreover,  controlled  by  a 
worthy  ideal,  plan  or  aim,  (3).  This  psychological  state, 
the  ideal  or  purpose,  is  not  the  activity  which  the  speaker 
refers  to  as  method.  The  external  process  of  the  student 
of  the  Bible  who  is  at  the  same  time  his  own  guide  or 
teacher,  interpenetrated  by  the  worthy,  rational  ideal,  is 
that  which  is  called  method. 

In  the  present  work  each  of  these  external  activities  is 
classed  as  belonging  under  method  according  to  the  first 
view,  i.  e.,  as  external  method,  or  device. 

The  third  kind  of  activity  is  not  named  method  by  the 
speaker.  It  is,  however,  the  activity  which  is  considered 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  47 

to  be  method,  according  to  the  second  view  noted  on  page 
?  .  The  character  of  the  intellectual  process  in  knowing 
the  Bible  is  indicated  by  saying  that  it  must  be  systematic. 
To  be  systematic  the  act  of  knowing  must  be,  according  to 
the  speaker  (1)  in  harmony  with  a  carefully  wrought-out 
plan,  (2)  comparison,  (3)  thinking  out  the  growth  of 
prophecy,  (4)  a  special  study  of  the  various  great  books. 
(5)  an  independent  effort,  (6)  a  logical  process,  (7)  a 
comprehensive  act,  and  (8)  an  act  resulting  in  habit.  In 
so  far  as  this  is  strictly  a  psychological  process  it  is  method 
according  to  the  second  view.  If  the  speaker  refers  to 
outward  activities  of  the  student  of  the  Bible  which  are 
controlled  by  and  manifest  these  modes  of  intellectual  ac- 
tivity, it  is  a  systematized  series  of  devices,  or  method  ac- 
cording to  the  first  view. 

Within  this  third  kind  of  activity  the  speaker  mentions 
"comprehensive"  knowing.  He  also  calls  attention  to  the 
act  of  mastering  details.  It  is  held  that  these  details 
should  be  studied  in  the  light  of  the  comprehensive  knowl- 
edge of  the  whole.  The  act  of  knowing  is  to  be  marked 
by  "consecution,  connection,"  that  is,  by  "logical  order." 
Finally,  this  process  is  to  become  a  habitual  form  of  mental 
action.  This  established  mode  of  mental  life  constitutes 
the  "definite  results"  referred  to.  What  is  the  nature 
of  such  results?  They  are  habits,  or  established  modes  of 
thought.  They  can  be  reproduced  at  will.  They  are  the 
tendencies  established  by  many  separate  activities.  In  this 
sense,  the  "results"  mentioned  by  the  speaker,  are,  essen- 
tially, the  third  element  of  the  fundamental  law  of  con- 
sciousness. In  explaining,  the  systematic  act  of  knowing 
the  Bible,  there  is,  therefore,  a  definite  reference  to  the 
characteristic  process  of  consciousness  which  constitutes 
method  in  its  fundamental  aspect  as  held  in  this  book. 


48  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

GENERAL  MEANINGS. 
(From  Dictionary.) 

1.  Literal  meaning  meta,  after ;  odos,  a  way. 

2.  An  orderly  procedure  or  process;  regular  manner  of 
doing  anything;  hence,  manner,  way,  mode;  as,  a  method 
of  teaching  languages ;  a  method  of  improving  the  mind. 

Addison. 

3.  Orderly  arrangement,   elucidation,   development,   or 
classification ;  systematic  arrangement  peculiar  to  an  in- 
dividual. 

Though  this  be  madness,  yet  there's  method  in  it. 

Shakespeare. 

4.  All  method  is  rational  progress,  a  progress  toward 
an  end.  Sir  W.  Hamilton. 

5.  A  mode  or  system  of  classifying  natural  objects  ac- 
cording to  certain  common  characteristics;  as,  the  method 
of  Theophrastus ;  the  method  of  Ray ;  the  Linnaean  method. 

a.  Synonyms.  Order,  system,  rule,  regularity,  way, 
manner,  mode,  course,  process,  means;  method  implies  ar- 
rangement; mode,  mere  action  or  existence;  method  is  a 
way  of  reaching  a  given  end  by  a  series  of  acts  which  tend 
to  secure  it ;  mode  relates  to  a  single  action,  or  to  the  form 
which  a  series  of  acts,  viewed  as  a  whole,  exhibits ;  manner 
is  literally  the  handling  of  a  thing,  and  has  a  wider  sense, 
embracing  both  method  and  mode.  An  instructor  may 
adopt  a  good  method  of  teaching  to  write ;  the  scholar  may 
acquire  a  bad  mode  of  holding  his  pen;  the  manner  in 
which  he  is  corrected  will  greatly  affect  his  success  or  fail- 
ure. 


THK  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  49 

POPULAR  MEANINGS. 

1.  When  Comptroller  Eckels  wrote  that  the  failure  of 
the  National  Bank  of  Illinois  was  '  *  due  to  injudicious,  reck- 
less and  imprudent  methods,"  he  was  either  not  fully  in- 
formed as  to  the  facts,  or  he  put  the  case  much  too  mildly. 
The  Indianapolis  Journal,  Dec.  26,  1896. 

2.  They  never  stop  to  think,  if  they  know,  how  the  in- 
troduction  of   the   French   revolutionary   methods   would 
work  in  this  or  any  other  country.     Terre  Haute  Express, 
Dec.  26,  1896. 

3.  The  report  of  the  Inter-State  Commerce  Committee, 
published  last  week,  brings  out  sharply  some  of  the  methods 
by  which  the  railroads  are  evading  the  Inter-State  Com- 
merce Law.     It  deals  especially  with  the  traffic  associations 
by  which  railroads  now  combine  to  keep  rates  above  the 
competitive   level.     The   agreement   of   these   associations, 
says  the  Commission,  quoting  Judge  Cooley,  are  drawn  with 
"marvelous"  ingenuity  to  evade  the  law  against  pooling. 
In  those  recently  entered  into,  the  words  "so  far  as  legally 
can  be  done"  follow  provisions  for  maintaining  rates  and 
dividing  traffic  which  would  not  otherwise  be  distinguished 
from  the  pooling  arrangements  declared  illegal.     The  Out- 
look, Dec.  26,  1896,  p.  1171. 

4.  We  realized  that  he  had  struck  a  blow  in  the  world 
which  will  resound  through  its  history.     In  him  we  find 
not  the  methods  of  the  machine  politician  or  of  the  crafty 
diplomatist,    but    the    incorruptible  citizen    and    patriotic 
statesman.     Speech  of  Mr.  Lewis,  Atlanta,  Georgia. 

5.  A  survey  and  consideration  of  the  present  methods 
and  results  of  our  foreign  mission  work,  when  made  from 
any  high  standpoint,  cannot  fail  to  produce  in  most  observ- 
ers a  feeling  of  impatience  and  dissatisfaction.     Not  only 


50  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

the  hostile  censor  and  the  chronic  doubter,  but  even  the 
friendly  critic  and  the  hearty  believer  in  the  paramount 
duty  of  the  Christian  Church  to  send  missions  into  all  the 
world,  finds  in  such  survey  and  consideration  much  to  con- 
demn, or  at  least  to  seriously  question.  The  attitude  of  the 
missionary  towards  the  religion  which  he  seeks  to  displace, 
the  relation  of  the  missionary  abroad  to  the  Board  at  home, 
the  very  existence  of  a  home  board  in  a  true  missionary 
economy,  the  relation  of  the  foreign  missionary  to  the  na- 
tive Christianity,  the  very  right  and  expediency  of  the  re- 
tention of  permanent  settled  foreigners  in  a  field  where 
the  nucleus  of  a  native  church  has  been  formed — these  and 
other  considerations  of  equal  gravity  and  importance 
present  themselves  for  the  consideration  of  the  Church. 
Radical  reforms  are  suggested  in  some  directions,  but  even 
among  those  who  would  agree  in  ultimate  ideals  there  is 
wide  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  expedient  policy  for  the 
immediate  future.  That  radical  changes  are  needed  admits 
of  no  doubt  to  many.  While  the  great  mass  of  the  con- 
servatives see  no  occasion  for  serious  change,  how  can  they 
understand  why  such  questions  should  be  raised? 

There  is,  however,  one  evil  in  our  foreign  missionary 
work  which  finds  almost  unanimous  recognition;  for  there 
are  but  few  who  would  not  agree  with  the  recent  declara- 
tion of  a  foreign  missionary  that  "  denominationalism  is  a 
luxury  that  should  not  be  encouraged  in  the  foreign  field. ' 7 
While  this  sentiment  is  quite  general,  the  condition  which 
confronts  us  is  a  number  of  denominational  boards,  each 
working  on  separate  and  independent  lines  which  run  out 
into  the  furthest  missionary  field.  What  is  more,  this  con- 
dition has  in  it  evident  potency  of  long  life,  which  belongs 
to  old  and  strong  organizations,  backed  by  a  practical  de- 
nominationalism and  supported  by  a  jealous  fear  which  at 
present  is  more  strong  than  an  ideal  sentiment. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  51 

In  view  of  this  condition,  while  we  would  neither  ignore 
the  more  radical  reforms  hinted  at  above,  nor  lose  sight  of 
ultimate  ideals,  our  purpose  is  to  suggest  an  advance  in 
missionary  methods,  which,  not  disturbing  the  existence  of 
the  denominational  boards,  nor  interfering  with  the  work 
in  the  fields,  offers  a  forward  step  both  immediate  and  prac- 
tical. The  idea  which  we  would  present  is  that  of  a  gen- 
eral Missionary  Board  or  Commission,  which  in  some  lim- 
ited way,  should  unite  and  represent  the  several  isolated 
denominational  boards.  Rather  than  to  attempt  to  discuss 
the  form  of  such  a  commission  and  meet  the  obvious  objec- 
tions which  might  be  offered  in  the  abstract,  we  would  pre- 
fer to  commend  the  idea  by  suggesting  some  of  the  direc- 
tions in  which  such  a  commission  would  be  of  service  suffi- 
cient to  justify  its  creation.  These  directions  of  service  are 
capable  of  a  threefold  division  as  affecting  (1)  the  work  of 
the  several  boards  which  might  co-operate  in  it;  (2)  the 
work  and  workers  in  the  foreign  field;  (3)  the  Church  at 
home. 

With  regard  to  the  separate  boards,  the  Commission  could 
be  of  general  economic  service  by  making  easy  a  compari- 
son of  methods  and  expenses  which  would  enable  different 
boards  to  benefit  by  the  experience  of  others,  and  so  reduce 
expenses  and  improve  methods.  The  Outlook,  Dec.  20, 
1896.  A  Forward  Step  in  Missions. 

6.  Before  Moses,  sacrifice  was  well  nigh  universal.  Many 
persons  have  the  impression  that  Moses  not  only  commanded 
sacrifice,  but  that  it  originated  with  him.  No!  sacrifice 
was  the  universal  method  of  worship  throughout  the  world. 
Its  origin  is  pagan,  not  Jewish.  It  antedates  Judaism. 
*  *  Pagans  offered  their  sacrifices  everywhere,  on 
every  high  hill  and  under  every  green  tree.  But  this  Lev- 
itical  code  said  Israel  should  not  do  so.  That  is  based  on 
the  idea  that  sacrifice  is  necessary,  that  one  cannot  have 


52  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

favor  with  God  unless  he  offers  sacrifice,  and  that  idea  was 
by  every  method  discouraged  and  denied.  Gospel  Doctrine 
of  Sacrifice.  Outlook,  Dec.  26,  1896. 

7.  There  is  a  method  in  man 's  wickedness.     It  grows  up 
by  degrees.     A  King  and  No  King,  Act  V,  Scene  4.     Beau- 
mont and  Fletcher. 

8.  Who  could  have  conjectured  in  advance  anything  of 
that  widespread  system  of  Totemism  which  Frazer  has  pre- 
sented with  such  detail,  the  importance  of  which  we  are 
only  beginning  to  recognize,  and  the  significance  of  which 
we  are  scarcely  beginning  to  comprehend?     Indeed,  it  is 
doubtful  if  many  of  these  early  methods  of  thought  and  ac- 
tion will  ever  be  really  understood,  for  the  reason  that  these 
customs  so  soon  become  merely  traditional,  and  those  who 
practice  them  may  no  longer  attach  a  definite  significance 
to  them.     In  looking  at  methods  of  life  that  express  feelings 
and  notions  so  different  from  our  own,  we  feel,  so  far  as  any 
comprehension  is  involved,  almost  as  helpless  as  we  do  in 
watching  the  economy  of  an  ant-hill.     In  the  ant-hill  there 
is  a  civilization  very  like  our  own,  and  yet,  so  far  as  the 
inner  relations  which  it  expresses  are  concerned,  it  is  utterly 
foreign  to  us  and  unimaginable  by  us.     The  Gospel  of  St. 
Paul,  by  Charles  Carrol  Everett,  p.  9. 

9.  However  these  two  methods  may,  at  the  first  glance, 
seem  to  resemble  each  other,  there  is  a  really  great  differ- 
ence  between  them.     The   animal   is   identified   with   the 
worshipper  in  the  Jewish  scapegoat,  for  instance,  where  the 
sins  of  the  people  were  laid  upon  his  head.     Among  the 
Egyptians,  the  victim  was  sometimes  marked  with  a  seal 
bearing  the  image  of  a  man  bound  and  with  a  sword  at  his 
throat.     This  was  to  show  that  the  victim  represented  the 
human  sacrifice  which  milder  manners  had  given  up.     The 
Gospel  of  Paul,  by  Charles  Carroll  Everett,  p.  25. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  53 

10.  It  is  hardly  to  be  questioned  that  the  sacrifice  and, 
the  use  of  blood  as  a  means  of  purification  came  to  be  re- 
garded, to  some  extent,  in  the  same  formal  and  traditional 
manner.     At  least  there  must  have  been  a  tendency  to  the 
simple  perfunctory  use  of  such  methods  of  winning  the 
divine  favor.     Those  by  whom  the  gods  were  conceived  in 
too  spiritual  a  fashion  to  admit  of  the  earlier  and  grosser 
notions  of  sacrifice  might  still  feel  obliged  to  perform  them 
according  to  the  customary  routine  of  worship.     The  Gos- 
pel of  Paul,  by  Charles  Carroll  Everett,  p.  35. 

11.  As  to  the  method  by  which  the  death  of  Christ  took 
the  place  of  the  punishment  which  the  sinner  had  deserved, 
Pfleiderer's  statements  lack  the  clearness  which  marks  the 
greater  part  of  his  discussion.     The  Gospel  of  Paul,  by 
Charles  Carroll  Everett,  p.  127. 

12.  I  thus  fail  to  find  any  method  by  which  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ  may  be  made  to  appear  to  have  any  vital  rela- 
tion to  his  atoning  work,  as  this  is  commonly  understood. 
The  Gospel  of  Paul,  by  Charles  Carroll  Everett,  p.  209. 

13.  He  was  with  the  Terre  Haute  Evening  News  in  a 
responsible  capacity  and  his  brilliant  and  aggressive  meth- 
ods won  for  that  newspaper  a  large  circulation.     Terre 
Haute  Express,  Jan.  1,  1897. 

14.  The  Commission,  however,  recognized  the  necessity 
of  other  methods  of  securing  such  deliberation  and  such 
public  notice,  by  providing  that  no  important  ordinance  can 
be  acted  upon  until  several  days  after  publication  in  the 
"City  Record."     *     *     *     There  are  two  methods,  either 
one  of  which  would  make  such  knowledge  possible.     One 
would  be  to  delegate  the  legislative  powers  to  a  small  body 
of  nine,  twelve,  or  fifteen  men,  to  be  elected  by  the  whole 
city  on  one  ticket.     The  other  would  be  to  divide  the  city 
into  a  hundred  voting  districts,  and  provide  that  each  dis- 


54  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

trict  should  elect  one,  and  only  one,  representative.     Out* 
look,  Editorial,  Jan.  2,  1897. 

15.  Perfect  methods  make  our  work  perfect.     Adver* 
tisement  of  a  laundry. 

16.  In  order  to  accomplish  this  result  the  melter  and 
refiner  must  have  the  pure  gold  to  begin  with.     He  must 
take  all  the  gold  out  of  the  brick,  but  in  such  a  way  as  to 
leave  no   silver  or  other  metal   connected  with   it.     His 
method  is  an  odd  one.     He  takes  the  gold  brick  and  melts  it 
with  a  lot  of  silver.     He  does  this  because  the  acid  which 
is  to  take  the  silver  out  of  the  gold  will  not  work  well  un- 
less there  is  plenty  of  the  silver  in  the  mixture.     He  knows 
just  how  much  silver  is  necessary  for  the  right  combina- 
tion, and  he  adds  this  amount  to  the  gold  brick.     The  com* 
bined  metals  are  next  thrown  into  a  vessel  containing  nitric 
acid.     This  acid  has  a  peculiar  affinity  for  silver  and  for  the 
baser  metals.     It  has  no  effect  upon  gold,  but  it  sucks  all 
of  the  other  metals  out  of  the  mixture  and  combines  with 
them,  turning  them  into  a  liquid  which  looks  not  unlike 
water.     The  pure  gold  drops  to  the  bottom  of  the  vessel, 
while  the  silver  and  other  metals  are  left  in  the  solution> 
The  liquor  is  now  drawn  off,  and  the  melter  and  refiner  hag 
a  lot  of  pure  gold,  out  of  which  he  makes  another  brick  OP 
bar.     Method  in  Language  VII — Devices,  p.  55. 

17.  Lieutenant  Governor  Nye  ruled  him  out  of  order 
and  decided  an  appeal  to  the  Senate,  saying  the  method  pro- 
vided for  organization  could  not  be  departed  from.     Terra 
Haute  Gazette,  Jan,  8,  1897. 

18.  There  should  be  some  method  of  enrollment  and  a 
fee  demanded  as  a  condition  precedent  to  the  right  to  prac- 
tice before  the  people's  legislative  jury.     Gov.  Pingree't 
Message  to  the  Michigan  Legislature. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  55 

19.  The  same  regulation  should  be  provided  for  city  and 
town  superintendents,  as  one  year  is  not  time  enough  for 
the  putting  to  a  test  any  superintendent's  methods.     Re- 
port of  Indiana  Legislative  Committee  on  School  Law. 

20.  Arrange  to  keep  such  paved  streets  clean  by  the 
latest  improved  method.  Terre  Haute  Gazette,  Jan.  9,  1897. 

21.  But  if  we  proceed  in  our  inquiries  as  we  lately  did, 
by  the  method  of  mutual  admissions,  we  shall  combine  in 
our  own  persons  the  functions  of  jury  and  advocate.     Bk. 
1,  Sec.  348,  Plato's  Republic. 

22.  It  is  not  promised  to  bring  prosperity  to  those  who 
do  business  according  to  reckless  and  dishonest  methods. 
Crawfordsville  Journal. 

23.  The  presidential  electors  elected  last  November  held 
an  informal  meeting  at  the  Denison  House  last  evening  to 
look  into  the  law  and  learn  what  should  be  the  method  of 
procedure  in  casting  the  vote  of  Indiana  for  McKinley  and 
Hobart.     They  did  not  talk  of  who  should  be  elected  mes- 
senger, and  that  question  will  be  decided  either  by  ballot  or 
by  lot  at  the  meeting  to-day.     They  will  meet,  according  to 
law,  in  the  hall  of  the  House  at  10  o'clock  this  morning, 
and  organize  by  electing  a  chairman  and  secretary.     They 
will  then  ballot  for  president  and  vice-president  and  will 
sign  a  certificate  of  how  the  vote  was  cast  in  triplicate,  one 
copy  being  filed  in  the  Federal  Court,  another  being  trans- 
mitted by  mail  to  the  president  of  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  and  the  other  being  sent  to  the  same  office  by  special 
messenger,  under  seal.     Four  or  five  of  the  delegates  are 
asking  to  be  made  messenger,  and  none  of  them  would  re- 
fuse it.     Indianapolis  Journal. 

24.  When  I  assumed  the  position  as  chief  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Geology  and  Natural  Resources,  I  started  out  with 


56  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

the  expressed  determination  of  making  that  department 
what  its  originators,  in  my  opinion,  intended  it  should  be— 
a  bureau  of  information,  where  any  person  can  at  any  time 
procure  a  knowledge  of  the  natural  resources  of  our  State. 
I  did  away  with  the  unscientific  method  of  county  surveys 
since  the  civil  boundaries  of  a  county  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  boundaries  or  limits  of  a  natural  resource,  and 
adopted  the  plan  of  taking  up  each  of  the  great  resources 
in  detail,  and  preparing  a  monograph  or  special  report 
thereon,  accompanied  by  maps,  cuts,  engravings  and  tables; 
of  chemical  and  physical  tests.  Report  of  State  Geologist 
to  Indiana  Legislature,  Jan.,  1897. 

25.  Monopoly's  Method.     It  appears  that  the  Pennsyl- 
vania railroad  tried  to  pack  the  meeting  of  citizens  which 
was  held  last  night  to  protest  against  the  gift  of  Delaware 
street  made  by  the  Board  of  Public  Works  to  this  corpora- 
tion.    Large  numbers  of  railroad  employes  were  present 
for  the  purpose  of  destroying  the  object  of  the  meeting, 
and  they  might  have  succeeded  if  they  had  been  as  ably  led 
as  the  citizens  were.     Indianapolis  News,  Editorial,  Jan.  12, 
1897. 

26.  One  irritating  circumstance  in  connection  with  the 
last  treaty  grows  out  of  the  peculiar  method  adopted  by  the 
State  Department  to  give  the  text  to  the  public.     Two  ex- 
tra copies  were  made,  one  of  which  was  sent  to  the  Senate, 
and  the  other  given  to  a  Washington  correspondent  of  a; 
London  newspaper.     It  was  supposed  at  the  department 
that  the  press  association  would  be  able  to  get  a  copy  at  the 
Senate,  but  the  rules  of  that  body  prohibited  this  being 
given  out  at  once.     The  press  associations,  therefore,  had 
to  order  the  treaty  cabled  back  from  London,  whereat  com- 
plaint is  made  of  discrimination  against  American  newspa? 
pers,  and  much  is  being  made  of  it  in  Congress  and  out. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  57 

Mr.  Olney  is  accused  of  being  an  Anglomaniac  and  of 
catering  more  to  the  English  people  than  to  his  American 
constituency  both  in  the  matter  and  spirit  of  the  treaty  it- 
self and  in  the  methods  of  its  distribution  for  publication. 
Indianapolis  Journal,  Jan.  14,  1897. 

27.  It  also  amends  the  election  law  by  putting  the  Re- 
publican ticket  in  the  first  column  and  making  a  few  minor 
changes  in  the  methods  of  counting,  chief  of  which  is  that 
it  gives  to  any  party  nominating  a  ticket  the  privilege  of 
having  two  watchers  at  the  polls.     Indianapolis  Journal 
Jan.  15,  1897. 

28.  Moreover  its  work  in  unmasking  imposters  and  ex- 
posing the  methods  of  fraudulent  charity-mongers  has  been 
of  great  benefit  to  the  community.     Report  of  Society  for 
Organized  Charity,  Jan.,  1897. 

29.  "A  few  years  ago,"  said  a  local  newspaper  man  last 
night,  "  I  saw  as  much  of  Mr.  McCullagh  as  any  man  could. 
I  knew  his  methods.     He  gave  his  time  to  his  paper.     In  the 
old  building  where  all  were  crowded  together  there  was  but 
one  chair  that  any  one  could  sit  in,  and  that  was  occupied 
by  the  editor.     The  others  were  heaped  with  books,  so  that 
it  was  impossible  for  him  to  ask  any  one  to  be  seated.     He 
read  the  papers,  and  as  he  read  wrote  the  crisp  editorial 
paragraphs  which  have  long  been  a  feature  of  the  Globe- 
Democrat.     He  never  permitted  himself  to  be  bored.     If  he 
wanted  an  article  he  knew  it,  and  would  send  the  writer  a 
check  for  it.     If  he  did  not,  he  would  waste  no  words  about 
it.     It  was  said  that  his  moods  had  something  to  do  with 
his  decisions.     Indianapolis  Journal. 

30.  It  must  be  gratifying  to  all  good  citizens  to  note  the 
energetic-  methods  that  obtain  with  the  management  of  the 
local  branch  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 
The  Sunday  afternoon -meetings  of  the  association  are  at- 


58  THE  PJROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

tended  by  more  men  than  any  other  service  in  the  city,  and 
that  they  are  the  sources  of  much  profit  as  well  as  of  great 
pleasure  there  is  no  doubt.  Their  success  is  perhaps  due  in 
large  measure  to  the  restlessness  of  the  General  Secretary. 
He  is  a  firm  believer  in  the  efficacy  of  advertising — a  species 
of  orthodoxy  that  some  business  men  have  yet  fully  to 
grasp.  When  he  starts  out  "to  work  up  a  meeting,"  as  he 
phrases  it,  he  does  not  rest  until  he  has  accomplished  his 
purpose.  On  Saturday  nights  the  citizens  of  Terre  Haute 
are  greeted  by  announcements  in  chalk  written  on  the  side- 
walks and  at  other  conspicuous  places  telling  them  that  * '  to* 
morrow  afternoon  Mr.  So-and-So  will  speak  at  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  rooms."  As  a  rule,  also,  the 
same  announcement  is  made  in  the  various  churches  on  the 
next  morning  and  the  fact  is  given  publicity  in  as  many 
ways  as  possible.  Saturday  Evening  Mail,  Jan.  16,  1897. 

31.  It  is  a  simple  and  antidotal  volume  of  advice  and 
suggestion  about  the  manners,  customs,  habits  and  moral 
qualities  and  methods  of  work  which  a  priest  ought  to  culti- 
vate.    The  Outlook,  Jan.  16, 1897.     The  Books  of  the  Week. 

32.  The  Board  of  Superintendents,  acting  as  a  central 
body  for  the  whole  school  system  of  the  city,  has  attended 
to  all  appointments  and  promotions;  the  superintendent 
states  it  to  be  the  present  method  of  administration.     The 
Outlook,  Jan.  16,  1897.     The  Teaching  Profession. 

33.  He  did  it  more  cleverly  than  the  inventor  and  his 
efforts  in  the  performance  were  an  improvement  upon  Hou- 
din's  methods.     Heller  was  the  first  magician  to  introduce  a 
lady  confederate  and  assistant  in  the  magical  entertain- 
ment.    He   likewise  discarded  the  use  of  all  visible  ap- 
paratus, curtains  and  tapestries.     Wyman  is  perhaps  the 
first  magician  the  present  middle  age  can  recollect  of  its 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  59 

childhood.  His  methods  were  clumsy  in  contrast  to  those 
of  latter  day  magicians,  but  his  wonders  seemed  marvels 
and  his  crowning  feat  of  extracting  real  eggs  and  a  live 
chicken  from  an  apparently  empty  bag  was  a  feat  beyond 
which  nothing  appeared  more  startling.  He  combined  ven- 
triloquism with  his  entertainment  and  a  large  source  of  his 
fame  rested  upon  his  powers  in  this  species  of  entertain- 
ment. Indianapolis  Journal,  Jan.  17,  1897.  Magic  and 
Magicians. 

34.  The  doctors  had  failed  in  the  attempt  to  secure  pic- 
tures of  the  thoughts  in  their  minds,  and  only  attained  their 
purpose  by  the  indirect  method  of  having  them  impressed 
first  on  the  brains  of  others.     Before  the  subjects  were 
placed  under  the  hypnotic  spell  each  was  instructed  to  think 
of  nothing  but  his  own  hand.     Each  imagined,  then,  that 
the  laboratory  was  full  of  hands  and,  judging  by  the  dis- 
tinct impressions  received  of  a  photographic  plate,  the  hands 
were  really  there.     Indianapolis  Journal,  Jan.  17,  1897. 
Thought  Photography. 

35.  The  district  method  of  electing  county  commission- 
ers works  very  unjustly  in  this  county.    Under  the  present 
system  Indianapolis,  which  with  its  suburbs,  has  nine-tenths 
of  the  population  of  the  county  and  pays  eight-tenths  of  the 
taxes,  has  only  one  of  three  commissioners.     The  result  is 
that  it  has  little  or  no  voice  in  the  action  of  the  board,  be- 
ing always  voted  down  in  matters  of  local  interest  by  the 
country  members.     If  the  district  method  of  electing  com- 
missioners is  to  continue  in  general,  an  exception  should  be 
made  of  counties  containing  cities  of  a  certain  population. 
Editorial  in  Indianapolis  Journal,  Jan.  20,  1897. 

36.  The   Associated   Press   report   of   the   scene    with 
Speaker  Reed  says  that  the  committee  of  members  pointed 
out  the  necessity  of  the  buildings  mentioned,  and  said  that 


60  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

it  was  evident  that  the  majority  of  the  House  desired  their 
consideration.  Speaker  Keed  asked  them  if  they  were 
aware  that  the  government  was  running  behind  in  the  mat- 
ter of  revenue  at  the  rate  of  $58,000,000  a  year.  It  was  a 
question  of  the  ability  of  the  government  to  meet  and  pay 
its  obligations.  The  committee  replied  that  the  bills  did 
not  appropriate  a  dollar,  but  only  fixed  the  maximum  of 
cost  of  the  buildings,  the  appropriations  being  left  in  the 
hands  of  future  Congresses.  Mr.  Reed  said  that  he  did  not 
approve  of  this  method  of  mortgaging  the  revenues  of  the 
government,  to  which  the  committee  replied  that  they  could 
not  mortgage  what  did  not  exist  and  thought  that  the  sub- 
ject of  making  appropriations  could  be  safely  left  to  future 
Congresses.  The  committee  came  away  feeling  that  it  was 
not  a  cheerful  outlook.  Indianapolis  Journal,  Jan.  21 
1897. 

37.  An  operator  comes  forward,  and  under  his  guidance 
we  look  into  the  methods  of  attending  to  a  most  important 
branch  of  the  fire  service — that  of  receiving  and  recording 
an  alarm  of  fire  from  a  street  box,  and  transmitting  the 
same  to  the  engine  companies  nearest  to  the  fire,  in  the 
shortest  possible  time.     *     *     *     After  this  when  we  see  a 
fire  company  responding  to  the  call  of  duty,  we  will  better 
appreciate  the  methods  that  have  been  used  to  send  them  on 
their  noble  errand.     St.  Nicholas,  Feb.,  1897. 

38.  Au  Gau  gazed  scornfully  upon  the  scene,  as  these 
demon-like  figures  danced  in  and  out  of  the  smoke  and  fire, 
"Look  at  those  red-headed  demons!    They  seem  to  be  fire- 
proof, ' '  he  remarked  to  his  uncle.     After  pondering  a  while, 
he  continued:  "I  have  been  told  that  all  this  noise,  fira 
and  smoke  is  to  drive  away  evil  spirits;  but  it  seems  to 
bring  them,  like  flies  around  a  sugar  bowl."    The  seeming 
failure  of  this  noisy  method  of  combatting-  the  bad  spirits  set 
his  young  mind  to  thinking.     St.  Nicholas,  Feb.,  1897. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  61 

39.  Mr.  Carlisle  is  an  able  man,  and,  as  politicians  go, 
a  good  deal  of  a  statesman,  but  he  has  not  developed  any 
originality  or  ability  as  a  financier  nor  shown  any  familiar- 
ity with  financial  methods.     Indianapolis  Journal,  Jan.  30, 
1897. 

40.  WASHINGTON,  Jan.  30. — Communications  from  the 
church  bodies  in  various  parts  of  the  country  are  being 
received  by  members  of  the  House  committee  on  military 
affairs   regarding  the   action   of  the  secretary  of  war  in 
granting  permission  for  the  erection  of  a  Catholic  cathedral 
building  on  the  government  grounds  at  West  Point.     The 
matter  seems  to  have  brewed  a  commotion  nearly  equal  to 
that  which  has  raged  over  school  appropriations  if  the  let- 
ters coming  in  are  a  sign.     Several  communications  from 
bishops,  ministers  of  organizations,  as  well  as  from  laymen, 
have  been  received.     Three  other  religious  bodies  have  ap- 
plied for  information  as  to  whether  they  will  also  be  allowed 
to  place  church  buildings  on  the  West  Point  grounds.     It 
is  possible  that  the  matter  may  be  brought  before  Congress 
by  a  resolution  of  inquiry  or  some  other  method.     Indian- 
apolis Journal,  Jan.  31,  1897. 

41.  The  antiquity  of  the  legal  methods  is  curiously  illus- 
trated by  the  recent  discovery  of  the  oldest  will  extant. 
This  unique  document  was  unearthed  by  Professor  Petrie  at 
Kahum,  Egypt,  and  is  at  least  four  thousand  years  old.     In 
its  phraseology  the  will  is  singularly  modern  in  form,  so 
much  so  that  it  might  be  admitted  to  probate  to-day.     In- 
dianapolis Journal,  Jan.  31,  1897. 

42.  The  Administrative  Board  of  Libraries,  Laboratories 
and  Museums  at  meetings  held  on  November  28,  1896,  and 
January  23,  1897,  took  the  following  action : 

In  the  place  of  Special  Regulation  No.  3  governing  De- 
partmental Libraries,  the  following  was  substituted : 


62  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

All  officers  of  instruction  may,  with  the  approval  of  the 
appropriate  departmental  adviser  withdraw  books  from  the 
library  of  their  own  department  and  retain  them  for  a  lim- 
ited period  to  be  agreed  upon  by  the  borrower  and  the  de- 
partmental adviser. 

In  the  carrying  out  of  this  rule,  the  following  methods 
shall  be  employed : 

1.  The  records  of  withdrawal  of  books  are  to  be  kept  in 
each  departmental  library  in  an  instructor's  loan  book  pro- 
vided for  that  purpose,  and  the  drawer  shall  record  his 
name,  etc.,  title  of  the  book,  accession  number,  and  the  date 
of  the  withdrawal. 

2.  The  departmental  adviser  in  connection  with  the  head 
of  the  department  shall  determine  the  conditions  under 
which  books  may  be  withdrawn  from  a  department  library, 
and  inform  the  general  library  of  these  conditions. 

3.  The  departmental  adviser  may  through  the  genera] 
library  call  in  the  book  at  any  time.     University  Record, 
Chicago,  Jan.  29, 1879. 

43.  No  one  has  blamed  Mr.  Rohl-Smith  for  accepting  a 
commission  which  was  offered  him  by  those  having  legal 
power  to  make  the  offer.     Those  whom  the  society  has 
blamed  are  the  officials  who  selected  a  work  of  art  for  other 
than  artistic  reasons.     It  is  not  necessary  to  speculate  as  to 
the  motive  of  those  who  have  misled  him  into  taking  such 
a  stand.     They  have  succeeded,  however,  in  furnishing  an- 
other example  as  to  methods  which,  in  this  instance,  the 
society  has  deplored,  and  have  done  everything  possible  to 
preclude  even  helpful  criticism  until  it  is  too  late  to  be  of 
any  use.     Statement  of  National  Sculptor  Society,  N.  Y., 
Jan.  31,  1896,  Indianapolis  Journal,  Feb.  1,  1897. 

44.  The  junketing  was  harmless,  but  it  helped  to  over- 
shadow the  business  side  of  the  visit  and  excited  rather  an 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  63 

undue  amount  of  censorious  comment.  In  spite  of  this  fea- 
ture, however,  the  visitation  method  continued  because  it 
seemed  to  be  the  only  available  means  of  getting  the  desired 
information.  The  bill  passed  by  the  House,  if  it  becomes  a 
law,  will  end  the  junketing  business.  It  provides  that  after 
an  election  of  members  of  the  Legislature,  and  at  least  forty- 
five  days  before  the  session  opens,  the  Governor  shall  ap- 
point a  commission  consisting  of  one  senator  and  two  rep- 
resentatives-elect, who  shall  visit  and  inspect  all  the  state  in- 
stitutions and  report  to  the  Legislature  regarding  their  con- 
dition and  needs.  The  commission  is  allowed  thirty  days 
in  which  to  visit  all  the  State  institutions,  and  as  there  are 
fifteen  of  them  in  different  parts  of  the  State  this  is  not  too 
much.  Editorial  in  Indianapolis  Journal,  Feb.  1, 1897. 

EDUCATIONAL    MEANINGS. 

1.  "  There  is  much  yet  to  be  said  upon  the  well-worn 
subject,  Bible  study.  There  is  still  occasion  to  ask  the 
question — and  to  ask  it  with  all  the  emphasis  which  lan- 
guage can  furnish — is  the  Bible  of  all  books,  the  book  to  be 
studied?  Shall  not  our  children  in  school,  our  sons  and 
daughters  in  college,  our  young  men  in  the  theological  semi- 
naries, study  this  book,  whatever  else  they  may  or  may  not 
know?  Shall  we  teach  the  most  minute  and  the  most  pru- 
rient details  of  Eoman  and  Greek  history  and  literature, 
and  allow,  yes,  compel  an  ignorance  of  even  the  general 
features  of  a  history  and  a  literature  which  in  spite  of  every 
untoward  circumstance  have  penetrated  and  elevated  the 
thought  and  life  of  humanity  as  have  no  other?  But  it  is 
not  my  purpose,  at  this  time,  to  discuss  the  subject  of  Bible 
study. 

"There  is  much  also  to  be  said,  more  by  far  than  most 
people  imagine,  on  the  closely  related  question,  Bible  study. 
Please  note  place  of  emphasis,  Bible  study  (emphasis  on 


64  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

study.)  The  mass  of  those  who  count  themselves  Bible 
students  never  study.  They  read,  perhaps:  they  seldom 
think,  they  never  study.  Shall  we  continue  thus  to  de- 
ceive ourselves?  Shall  we  substitute  the  most  hurried  and 
superficial  perusal  of  a  verse  or  chapter  for  an  earnest, 
faithful  examination  of  that  passage,  and  allow  ourselves 
fondly  to  suppose  that  we  have  studied  it?  Shall  that 
which,  in  some  cases,  is  worse  than  no  reading  at  all,  be 
falsely  dignified  and  dishonestly  branded  as  study  ?  But  it 
is  not  my  purpose  at  this  time  to  discuss  the  subject  of  Bible 
study. 

"Much  is  being  said  in  these  days  about  the  methods  of 
Bible  study.  What  method  shall  we  adopt  ?  is  the  question 
asked.  Is  there  one  method,  and  are  all  other  methods  tc 
be  cast  aside  ?  Will  two  men  ever  do  the  same  thing  best  in 
the  same  way  ?  Is  it  not  true  that  a  method  helpful  to  one 
man,  or  set  of  men,  is  often  ruinous  to  another  man,  or  set 
of  men  ?  Shall  we  not  seek  independence,  not  only  of  spirit 
but  as  well  of  method,  of  any  and  every  method?  The 
word  method  is  too  frequently  but  another  term  for  the 
word  rut.  And  yet  there  must  be  method.  He  who  works 
without  plan  and  aimlessly  will  find  his  results  without 
form,  and  void,  chaotic.  But  it  is  not  my  purpose  at  this 
time  to  discuss  methods. 

"We  who  are  gathered  here  to-day  are  Christian  men. 
There  is  in  the  mind  of  each  one  of  us  a  firm  purpose,  or  at 
least  a  strong  desire,  to  know  the  Word  of  God.  I  have  in 
mind  both  kinds  of  knowledge — that  spiritual  grasp  of  the 
sacred  book,  that  personal  experience  of  certain  truths 
which  will  enable  us  to  make  practical  use  of  the  same  in 
the  hand-to-hand  work  of  the  street  or  inquiry  room ;  that 
knowledge  the  ability  to  use  which  measures  our  strength 
in  Christian  work.  This  kind  of  knowledge  does  not  come 
at  once;  the  memorizing  of  verses  here  and  there  will  not 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  65 

bring  it.  It  is  the  highest  of  possessions.  It  is  the  deepest 
of  all  knowledge.  It  will  come  in  time  to  the  child  of  God. 
but  to  him  only  in  time — after  long  and  persistent  effort. 

* '  But  back  of  this  spiritual  grasp,  or  underneath  it,  there 
is  a  knowledge  of  another  kind.  Must  I,  for  lack  of  a  bet- 
ter term,  call  it  intellectual?  The  two  make  one;  the? 
must  not  be  separated ;  either  without  the  other  will  inevit- 
ably lead  to  error. 

"An  intellectual  grasp  of  the  Scriptures  will  lead  to 
what  ?  A  mastery,  so  far  as  possible,  of  the  details  of  Bible 
history ;  a  putting  together  of  this  and  that  event ;  an  inves- 
tigation of  the  great  epochs ;  a  study  of  the  great  characters ; 
an  inquiry  into  the  cause  of  things  as  they  are  represented 
in  Scripture  and  their  relations  to  each  other.  An  appre- 
ciation of  the  literary  forms  of  the  various  books ;  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  circumstances  under  which  they  had  their 
origin;  the  purpose  each  was  to  subserve;  the  people  for 
whom  they  were  originally  written ;  their  history.  An  abil- 
ity to  interpret;  to  apply  principles  of  interpretation  com- 
mon to  all  writings ;  a  familiarity  with  those  special  princi- 
ples demanded  by  the  unique  character  of  the  Bible.  It  is 
for  this  kind  of  knowledge — critical,  it  may  be  called,  yet 
necessary  to  a  conservation  of  the  truth;  intellectual,  yet 
forming  the  basis  of  the  deepest  spiritual  work — that  we 
who  are  here  to-day  ought  to  strive. 

"The  work  before  us  is  stupendous.  The  field  is  an  in- 
exhaustible one.  An  intellectual  grasp  of  the  contents  of 
the  Scripture  is  not  something  which  falls  into  one's  hands 
without  putting  forth  of  effort.  Effort,  indeed,  may  be  put 
forth,  and  the  result  not  come.  But  the  least  one  can  do  is 
to  make  the  effort. 

"What,  now,  shall  be  the  character  of  the  effort  put 
forth  ?  It  is  this  which  will  determine  the  character  of  the 
results.  Describe  to  me  the  effort  which  at  the  present  time 


66  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

is  being  made  in  any  given  section  or  by  any  individual, 
and  I  will  calculate  for  you  the  results,  which  are  being  at- 
tained in  that  section  or  by  that  individual.  Everything 
turns  on  the  effort,  and  is  it  not  true  a  single  word  may  be 
found  which  will  describe  the  ideal  effort,  and  that  word  is 
systematic  ? ' 

"Now,  let  me  ask  this  question:  Has  the  effort  which 
you  have  been  making  all  through  life  toward  a  comprehen- 
sion of  the  facts  and  truth  of  Holy  Writ  been  a  systematic 
one?  Are  you  ready  to  answer  yes?  Do  you  not  like  to 
confess  that  it  is  not  ?  Before  committing  yourself  one  way 
or  another,  before  confessing  that  you  have  not  been  system- 
atic, before  dogmatically  asserting,  at  the  risk  of  being 
wrong,  that  you  have  been  systematic,  let  us  inquire  what  is 
meant  by  '  systematic. ' 

"Have  you  had  a  clearly  denned  purpose  in  your  work 
and  has  that  purpose  been  a  correct  one  ?  The  stream  never 
rises  higher  than  the  fountain.  Your  work  will  never 
reach  higher  than  your  ideal.  How  is  it  now  ?  Is  the  ideal 
in  your  case  a  low  one?  What  have  you  been  aiming  at? 
There  are  some  who  study  merely  to  satisfy  themselves. 
They  are  always  taking  in,  always  adding  to  their  store  of 
knowledge.  This  knowledge,  great  though  it  may  be  in 
amount,  valuable  though  it  may  be  in  character,  is  of  little 
or  no  practical  value  to  those  who  possess  or  those  about 
them.  To  this  class  belong  many  of  those  who  are  known 
as  scholars.  Am  I  here  to  speak  against  scholarship — 
against  the  most  critical  and  painstaking  investigation? 
God  forbid.  But  is  it  not  true  that  from  the  men  who  have 
this  great  knowledge,  the  men  whom  God  has  given  the  op- 
portunity to  obtain  it,  we  have  a  right  to  expect — yes,  de- 
mand— something  by  way  of  return?  There  are  on  the 
floor  from  various  quarters  of  our  country  men  of  the  ripest 
and  highest  scholarship  in  biblical  studies.  Shall  they  not 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  67 

open  up  their  hearts  and  come  down  from  their  lofty  pedes- 
tal and  take  an  interest  in  the  promulgating  of  intelligent 
ideas  concerning  this  sacred  volume  ?  The  time  has  passed 
when  scholarship  should  be  divorced  from  popular  work, 
when  men  who  have  great  stores  of  knowledge  shall  stand 
aloof  from  the  masses. 

"But  there  are  some  who  go  to  the  other  extreme — they 
are  always  giving  out,  never  filling  up.  In  the  treatment  of 
a  Scripture  passage  it  is  entirely  sufficient  to  ascertain  what 
seems  to  be  the  great  lesson  inculcated  and  to  present  this 
lesson  to  those  who  are  dependent  on  them  for  the  bread  of 
life  without  any  effort,  either  to  master  for  themselves  the 
substance  of  the  Holy  Scripture  or  to  help  others  to  do  so. 
These  people  are  always  applying,  seldom  studying,  never 
teaching  the  sacred  word.  And  what  do  they  apply  ?  Their 
own  ideas,  not  the  Bible.  The  pupils  may  remain  under 
their  charge  for  many  years  and  be  none  the  wiser  as  to  the 
real  contents  of  the  Bible.  My  friends,  what  is  our  great 
purpose  in  this  study  ?  Do  we  belong  to  either  of  the  classes 
I  have  briefly  described?  If  so,  we  are  laboring  from  a 
point  of  view  which  is  inconsistent  with  a  systematic  Bible 
study.  What,  then,  should  be  our  purpose  ?  To  know  the 
Bible,  book  by  book;  to  become  saturated  with  its  thought 
and  its  spirit,  and  then  to  lead  others  to  the  same  knowl- 
edge. The  more  God  has  allowed  us  to  know  of  its  won- 
derful truths  the  greater  the  responsibility  which  rests  upon 
us.  But,  however  much  or  however  little  we  may  know,  it 
should  be  our  great  aim  to  teach  that,  and  not  something 
else  as  a  substitute.  Why  will  men,  teachers  and  preach- 
ers, with  a  self-conceit  which  is  incomprehensible,  imagine 
that  their  thoughts  about  the  Bible,  their  deductions  from 
its  pages,  are  of  more  value,  are  more  greatly  to  be  desired, 
than  the  precious  words  themselves  ?  The  world  is  starving 
for  the  Bible.  A  systematic  study  will  be  one  grounded  on 


68  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

the  principle  that  the  sacred  word  itself  is  to  be  studied  in 
such  a  manner  that  it  may  again  be  taught  to  those  who 
need  it,  and  not  man 's  feeble  ideas  concerning  it.  Have  you 
in  mind,  my  brother,  the  right  purpose  ? 

'  *  But  your  effort,  to  be  systematic,  must  be  submitted  to 
another  test.  Has  it  been  in  accordance  with  a  carefully 
wrought-out  plan? 

"Will  you  recall  the  steady  growth,  the  wonderful  prog- 
ress of  Israelitish  history  from  the  smallest  beginning, 
through  trial  and  trouble,  then  victory  and  possession — the 
organization  of  the  nation  by  Samuel,  the  establishment  of 
the  monarchy  by  David ;  its  disruption  at  the  death  of  Sol- 
omon ;  apostasy  and  sin  followed  by  the  destruction  of  the 
northern  nation;  again  the  apostasy  and  sin  and  the  long 
captivity;  the  return,  almost  pitiable  in  contrast  with  the 
former  glory,  the  bickering  and  strife,  the  gradual  dying 
out  of  the  national' fire,  that  divine  inspiration  which  had 
burned  for  so  many  centuries  ?  Has  your  plan  of  study  in- 
cluded a  careful  comparison  of  these  periods,  their  relation 
to  each  other,  and  the  special  part  played  by  each  in  the 
great  drama — the  world's  redemption? 

"With  your  knowledge  of  Israelitish  history  thus  gath- 
ered and  systematized,  have  you  gone  back  again  to  the  be- 
ginning and  taken  up  the  study  of  the  prophecy  (inter- 
woven so  closely  with  that  history  as  almost  to  be  identi- 
fied with  it),  and  followed,  generation  by  generation,  cen- 
tury by  century,  the  growing  fabric  of  the  revelation  of 
God;  the  lines,  branching  out  in  this  direction  and  that 
now  dim,  now  resplendent  in  glory;  new  lines  starting  up 
and  moving  side  by  side  with  the  old,  until  all  lines,  old 
and  new,  converge  in  the  life  work  and  death  of  the  Christ  ? 

"The  man  who  has  not  studied  prophecy  in  this  way 
noting  carefully  the  origin  and  development  of  each  of  the 
many  ideas  which,  taken  together,  proclaim  the  coming  of 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  69 

a  deliverance  and  Deliverer,  a  salavation  and  a  Savior;  the 
man  who  has  not  connected  the  prophetic  utterances  with 
the  great  events  of  history  and  personal  experience  from 
which  they  sprang  and  of  which  they  form  a  part,  has  he 
done  the  work  worthy  of  being  called  systematic? 

''Has  your  plan  made  provision  also  for  the  great  bookr 
of  Old  Testament  philosophy,  Job,  Proverbs  and  Ecclesi 
astes;  for  that  collection  of  laws,  the  most  wonderful  the 
world  has  ever  seen?  Have  you  ever  made  a  systematic 
study  of  that  most  sacred  and  fascinating  of  all  subjects,  the 
life  of  Christ;  or  the  life  and  the  writings  of  the  Apostle 
Paul?  The  question  is,  my  friends,  are  we  studying  ac- 
cording to  a  plan  which  includes  all  these  subjects  and  many 
more,  in  an  order  which  will  enable  us  most  clearly  to  grasp 
their  meaning,  and  the  mutual  relation  which  they  sustain 
to  each  other?  Have  you  any  plan  at  all?  Is  it  perhaps 
possible  that  some  of  us  have  been  moving  around  in  a  cir 
cle,  and  not  forward?  Are  some  of  us  feeding  from  hand 
to  mouth,  not  knowing,  not  even  caring  what  is  to  come 
next?  Without  a  plan,  flexible  perhaps,  yet  definite,  there 
can  be  no  systematic  study. 

"But  again:  Our  work,  if  it  is  to  be  in  the  best  and 
strictest  sense  systematic,  must  be  independent.  A  machine 
may  be  systematic,  but  the  human  mind,  if  its  system  is 
only  that  of  a  machine,  would  better  be  unsystematic.  The 
student  makes  no  real  progress  who  is  satisfied  with  having 
learned  what  some  one  else  has  said  concerning  the  mean- 
ing of  a  verse  or  the  scope  of  a  passage;  who  always  fol- 
lows ;  who  is  always  leaning  upon  another.  Such  a  student 
crams;  he  does  not  digest.  Is  craming  consistent  either 
with  any  true  purpose  or  any  prepared  plan?  Such  work 
is  done  for  the  moment,  not  for  all  time.  Is  such  work 
honest,  not  to  speak  of  its  being  systematic  ?  The  lack  of 
independence  explains  a  multitude  of  failures  under  our 


70         THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

present  system,  admirable  as  it  is.  Many  of  us,  strangely 
enough,  suppose  that  we  need  only  read  the  notes  published 
in  any  sheet,  or  perhaps  only  the  practical  lessons  suggested, 
and  in  time  we  will  come  to  know  the  Bible.  This  is  wrong, 
partly  because  these  notes  are  in  too  many  cases  the  merest 
trash,  and  partly  because,  even  when  most  excellent,  they 
are  not  properly  studied.  The  Bible  student  who  feels  that 
the  preparation  of  his  Sunday  school  lesson  is  all  the  Bible 
study  which  he  need  undertake,  who  is  satisfied  to  study 
that  lesson  as  he  would  be  ashamed  to  study  a  lesson  for 
the  school  room,  often,  oh,  how  often  makes  an  out-and- 
out  failure.  Crutches  are  freely  furnished  us  these  days — 
so  freely  indeed,  that  too  many  of  us  have  forgotten  how  to 
stand  on  our  own  feet.  If  our  work  is  to  be  systematic,  it 
must  be  planned  and  executed  independently,  and  not  in 
slavish  dependence  upon  some  one  man  or  set  of  men. 

'  *  A  systematic  study  of  the  Bible  will  be  a  logical,  philo 
sophical  study  of  it.  It  will  not  be  the  mere  memorizing  of 
a  list  of  names  and  dates;  the  naming  of  the  most  impor- 
tant cities,  villages,  rivers  and  mountains.  It  will  not  be  d 
study  of  a  verse  here  and  a  passage  there  without  consider 
ing  that  verse  or  passage  in  the  light  of  the  context.  It 
will  not  be  the  citing,  as  from  heaven,  of  words  quoted  bj 
an  inspired  writer  from  the  mouth  of,  perhaps,  Satan 
himself.  The  attempt  to  exhaust  the  meaning  of  a  verse, 
without  first  a  study  of  the  chapter  of  which  the  verse  is  a 
part,  or  of  a  chapter  without  first  a  study  of  the  book  of 
which  the  chapter  is  a  part — such  an  attempt  is  illogical ;  it 
is  more,  it  is  absurd.  There  must  be  logical  order;  there 
must  be  consecution,  connection,  or  the  work  will  be  defec- 
tive. We  must  know  who  it  was,  where  it  was  and  when 
it  was;  but  we  must  know  more,  if  it  is  possible  to  know 
it.  The  effort  will  be  comparatively  a  failure  if  we  do  not 
also  discover  why  it  was.  But  I  must  hasten. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  71 

"Our  study,  to  be  systematic,  must  be  comprehensive. 
Mastery  of  details  is  needed,  yet  also  mastery  of  the  subject 
as  a  whole.  '  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  for  a  moment  that 
Bible  study  consists  in  the  study  of  isolated  texts,  or  in  the 
study  of  single  chapters ;  or  even  in  the  study  of  the  entire 
book.  A  man  might  study  verses  all  his  life  and  know 
comparatively  little  of  the  Bible.  Besides,  the  man  who 
studies  only  verses  does  one-sided,  imperfect,  narrow  work. 
As  has  been  said,  he  who  does  not  have  in  mind  the  entire 
book,  and  from  this  standpoint  do  his  work,  does  not  and 
cannot  appreciate  the  full  force  of  a  single  verse  contained 
in  that  book.  The  same  thing  holds  good  in  a  higher 
sphere.  It  is  not  sufficient  merely  to  have  a  comprehensive 
knowledge  of  a  given  book.  Although  we  may  know  the 
contents,  the  analysis,  the  occasion,  purpose,  author,  etc.. 
etc.,  of  this  book,  there  is  still  something  to  be  ascertained. 
What?  The  place  of  that  book  in  the  Bible  as  a  whole; 
its  relation  to  other  books;  the  relation  of  its  contents  to 
the  contents  of  the  entire  Bible,  to  the  entire  plan  of  God 
for  the  salvation  of  men.  How  comparatively  contempti- 
ble, after  all,  is  the  study  of  mere  verses!  How  much  he 
loses  who  satisfies  himself  that,  having  done  this,  he  has 
done  all !  We  should  be  close,  critical  students  of  a  verse ; 
we  should  be  searching,  analytical  students  of  a  book;  we 
should  also  be  broad,  comprehensive  general  students  of 
the  Bible.  Let  our  work,  therefore,  whatever  else  it  is,  be 
a  comprehensive  work,  for,  unless  it  is  comprehensive,  it 
will  not  be  systematic. 

"Our  work  must  be  one  which  will  lead  to  definite  re- 
sults. When  one  has  finished  a  course  of  study  in  any  de- 
partment he  will  surely  be  disappointed  and  dissatisfied 
with  the  subject,  his  teacher  and  himself  if  he  is  not  able 
to  put  his  hands  on  certain  definite  results.  Now,  the  Bible 
is  a  small  book.  It  is,  we  all  believe,  an  inexhaustible  book ; 


72         THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

and  yet  the  work  of  mastering  this  book  is,  in  one  sense,  a 
very  definite  one.  With  a  plan  of  studying  looking  towards 
thorough  work  and  definite  results,  the  facts,  the  purpose, 
the  teachings  of  book  after  book  will  come  into  our  posses- 
sion ;  one  principle  after  another  will  become  familiar ;  one 
period  after  another  will  gradually  develop  itself  before 
us. 

"Here,  alas!  is  where  failure  stares  most  of  us  in  the 
face.  We  study,  and  we  study,  and  we  study ;  in  infancy, 
in  childhood,  in  youth,  in  manhood,  and  in  old  age;  and 
yet,  oh,  how  many  of  us  must  confess  it,  we  accomplish  so' 
little,  the  results  are  so  small,  that  in  the  pain  of  soul  and 
torture  of  heart  we  cry  out  in  our  disappointment.  Am  I 
wrong  when  I  say  that  the  actual  Bible  knowledge  of  the 
average  Christian  is  not  one-tenth  what  it  ought  to  be? 
Not  one-tenth  of  what  it  might  be  if  a  more  systematic 
study  were  in  vogue.  Pardon  me,  I  beseech  you ;  but  when 
I  read  the  hundreds  of  letters  which  are  coming  to  me  from 
all  parts  of  the  world — letters  from  Christian  men  and 
women,  teachers,  preachers  and  missionaries,  letters  con- 
taining the  most  pitiable  confessions  of  ignorance,  where 
no  ignorance  should  have  existed,  letters  which  tell  of 
yearnings  for  a  better  knowledge  of  the  sacred  truth — my 
heart  is  filled  with  indignation  that  this  should  be  so,  for  a 
fearful  responsibility  rests  somewhere;  and  then  there 
comes  the  feeling  of  sadness  that  the  experience  of  these  in- 
dividuals is  being  repeated  in  the  case  of  so  many  more. 
Put  the  question  to  yourself.  What  are  the  results  of  your 
eight,  ten,  twenty  or  thirty  years  of  Bible  study  ?  With  how 
many  of  the  sixty-six  books  are  you  even  tolerably  familiar  ? 
How  many  of  them  can  you  think  through  from  beginning 
to  end,  recalling,  in  a  flash,  the  substance  of  the  entire 
book?  On  how  many  of  the  sixty-six  books  would  you  be 
willing  to  offer  yourself  for  an  examination  similar  to  that 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  73 

required  of  the  average  freshman  in  college  on  Homer? 
How  many  of  us  here  to-night  could  pass  a  really  respecta- 
ble examination  on  the  life  of  our  Lord?  Definite  results, 
definite  results,  we  must  have,  and  if  our  study  does  not 
bring  them  we  may  confidently  believe  that  somehow, 
somewhere,  something  is  wrong.  Surely  no  study  deserves 
the  name  systematic,  no  study  can  be  systematic  which  does 
not  produce  them. 

"A  word  now  in  conclusion: 

"Have  you  a  clear  and  definite  purpose  in  mind  as  to 
what  you  are  studying  for?  As  to  what  you  are  trying  to 
accomplish  ? 

* '  Have  you  a  sharply  outlined  plan  in  which  provision  is 
made  for  the  intelligent  study,  one  by  one,  of  the  great 
epochs,  the  great  characters,  the  great  doctrines,  and  above 
all  that  great  life,  the  life  of  Christ? 

' '  Have  you  decided  that  you  will  think  for  yourself,  that 
you  will  use  the  mind  which  God  has  given  you,  employing 
aids  and  assistance  only  when  it  is  necessary  and  wise? 

"Is  your  study  in  accordance  with  the  great  principles 
which  underlie  the  working  of  the  human  mind  ?  Are  you 
logical?  Is  there  order,  connection,  consecution? 

"Is  your  work  comprehensive?  Are  you  careful  not  to 
lose  yourself  in  a  wilderness  of  detail ;  forgetting  the  great 
purpose  and  the  broad  plan  with  which  you  began  your 
work  ? 

"Is  your  work  producing  results?  At  the  end  of  every 
month,  or  three  months,  or  six  months,  can  you  feel  that 
you  have  made  progress?  Are  the  books  of  the  Bible  com- 
ing, one  by  one,  into  your  possession?  Are  you  beginning 
to  look  forward  to  the  time  when  every  book  will,  in  some 
sense,  have  been  mastered?  How  is  it?  Are  these  things 
so?  Your  work  then  is  systematic. 

"This  book,  your  book,  my  book,  God's  book — this  book, 


74         THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

I  say,  we  must  study  ;we  must  study  it  in  no  other  way  than 
did  the  Incarnate  Word  Himself.  Let  us  .take  Him  as  our 
model,  in  this  as  in  all  work.  We  must  study  it  Teverently ; 
for  it  is  divine;  study  it  historically,  for  it  is  human;  and 
study  it  systematically,  for  we  were  created  in  the  image 
of  God,  and  endowed  with  minds,  minds  which  our  Creator 
intended  we  should  use. 

' '  And  in  such  a  work,  undertaken  by  the  intelligent  men 
of  our  day,  entered  into  with  such  a  spirit  and  pursued  in 
such  a  manner,  with  God  Himself  over  all  and  in  all,  it  is 
not  for  the  tongue  of  man  to  describe,  nor  for  the  mind  of 
man  to  comprehend  what  would  be  accomplished.  Lecture 
by  Dr.  W.  R.  Harper,  at  Plymouth  Church,  Indianapolis. 

2.  A   reconstruction   of   education   must   come   in   this 
country,  and  the  best  methods  of  character-education  be 
made  universal.     Review  of  Reviews,  p.  681,  Dec.  1896. 

3.  She  (Switzerland)  owes  her  admirable  system  of  laws 
to  her  methods  of-  education.     Reviews  of  Reviews,  p.  682, 
Dec.  1896. 

The  almost  universal  education  of  children  under  the 
Froebel  methods  seems  to  be  close  at  hand;  it  is  the  new 
movement  of  the  age.  But  Froebel's  methods  need  evolu- 
tion and  expansion  to  meet  the  republican  spirit  of  to-day 
in  the  Pan-American  field.  Among  his  methods,  which 
merit  a  fuller  expression  in  our  child  schools  of  ethical  cul- 
ture, we  may  note : 

a.     Educational  walks. 

This  plan  belonged  to  the  methods  of  both  Pestalozzi  and 
Froebel.  These  teachers  took  their  pupils  to  places  for  the 
study  of  local  history,  to  the  flowers  for  botany,  to  the  rocks 
for  geology,  and  to  nature  for  all  nature's  lessons  of  life, 
etc. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  75 

b.  Froebel's  plan  of  associating  children  with  little  ani- 
mals and  birds,  in  order  to  teach  them  the  brotherhood  of 
all  creatures,  the  oneness  of  life,  and  how  to  treat  dumb 
animals,    has    found    illustration    in    many    kindergarten 
schools,  but  in  some  places  has  not  been  regarded  as  a  very 
essential  feature  of  his  method.     But  this  is  an  essential 
method  of  heart  education,  etc. 

c.  Patriotic  education. 

This  is  finding  a  place  in  most  American  kindergarten 
schools.  As  in  Switzerland,  the  children  march  with  the 
flag,  and  sing  the  songs  of  Justice  and  Liberty,  etc. 

d.  Teaching  of  self-control  is  an  essential  part  of  the 
Froebel  method,  and  in  no  country  is  this  moral  develop- 
ment more  needed  than  in  ours.     "To  give  firmness  to  the 
will,  to  quicken  it,  and  to  make  it  pure,  strong,  and  endur- 
ing, in  a  life  of  pure  humanity, ' '  says  Froebel,  * '  is  the  chief 
concern  in  instruction  and  in  the  school, ' '  etc. 

e.  Stories  of  imagination.    We  must  have  a  new  litera- 
ture for  children  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  educational  re- 
vival, after  the  Swiss  and  German  school  methods,  which 
follow  the  Hebrew  parables.     Tales  of  Indians,  bear-hunts, 
and  of  boys  who  were  men  before  their  time,  have  had  their 
day  of  our  children's  reading.     The  time  has  come  for  a 
large  place  in  the  education  of  the  creative  imagination  for 
the  imagination  largely  governs  life,  etc. 

f .  Kindergartens  for  friendless  children.   The  rich  need 
kindergartens  as  well  as  the  poor,  for  this  form  of  educa- 
tion is  the  soul 's  school.     But  we  believe  that  no  other  char- 
ity represents  so  much  in  life  as  the  kindergarten,  for  it 
stands  for  the  moral  evolution  of  life  from  the  beginning ;  it 
is  the  gospel  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  of  beatitudes  put 
into  the  heart  and  habits  of  the  child  by  the  natural  way  of 


76  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

the  playground,  through  the  exercise  of  the  creative  facul- 
ties.    Kindergarten  Age,  Review  of  Reviews,  Dec.,  1896. 

4.  What  has  inductive,   statistical,  or  scientific  child- 
study  accomplished  thus  far  that  would  suggest  modifica- 
tions in  the  present  curricula  or  methods  of  teaching  in  our 
schools  ? 

How  may  the  results  of  child-study  be  best  embodied  in 
the  curricula  and  methods  of  teaching  in  our  schools  as  rap- 
idly as  they  become  reasonably  well  established?  The  Bul- 
letin, Vincennes,  Ind.,  Jan.,  1897. 

5.  Probably  no  person  who  has  undertaken  the  subject 
of  child-study  has  done  so  much  to  *  interest  the  average 
teacher  as  Earl  Barnes.     He  has  a  method  of  study  all  his 
own,  which  he  has  used  industriously  as  may  be  seen  when 
one  reads  his  Studies  in  Education  now  being  published.     A 
sample  of  the  Barnes  method  will  illustrate : 

Once  a  mother  gave  a  child  for  a  birthday  present — the 
child  was  just  6  years  old — a  beautiful  box  of  paints.  In 
the  afternoon  while  the  mother  was  busy  in  another  room, 
the  child  painted  all  the  parlor  chairs  so  as  to  make  them 
look  nice,  and  then  called  out:  "0  mamma,  come  and  see 
how  pretty  I  have  made  the  parlor."  The  paint  could  not 
be  washed  off  and  so  the  chairs  were  spoiled.  What  would 
you  have  said  or  done  had  you  been  the  child 's  mother  ? 

One  day  the  teacher  left  the  room  and  while  she  was 
gone,  several  children  in  the  room  began  to  make  a  noise, 
The  teacher  heard  the  noise  as  she  came  back,  but  did  not 
know  which  children  were  out  of  order,  and  none  of  the 
class  would  tell  her.  So  she  kept  the  whole  class  in  after 
school.  Was  the  punishment  just  or  unjust,  and  why? 

Thousands  of  children  were  given  these  and  like  stories 
for  language  exercises.  The  papers  were  sent  to  Prof. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  77 

Barnes  who  made  a  careful  study  of  each  set.     The  Bulle- 
tin, Vincennes,  Ind.,  Jan.,  1897. 

6.  These  illustrations,  though  long,  illustrate  the  method 
of  presenting  the  story  of  Dante  to  children.    It  is  translat- 
ing it  into  their  own  experience.     P.  3  of  Leaflet  12. 

7.  "Should  a  Divinity  School  Teach  the  Student  What 
to  Believe,  or  How  to  Think?" 

* '  The  answer  which  should  be  given  to  this  question  by  a 
divinity  school  is  not  different  from  the  answer  which 
should  be  given  by  any  other  sort  of  school,  as,  for  example, 
by  a  school  of  law  or  medicine.  It  is  necessary  that  the  law- 
yer, at  the  very  beginning  of  his  practice,  have  a  mind  well 
stored  with  knowledge  concerning  laws  and  precedents  and 
courts,  else  woe  be  to  his  clients.  It  is  necessary  also  that 
he  have  a  mind  well  trained  to  think,  else  woe  to  his  clients. 
The  same  two-fold  preparation  is  necessary  for  the  physi- 
cian. There  was  once  a  system  of  medicine  the  professors 
of  which  proposed  to  deal  simply  with  facts  easily  ascer- 
tained and  catalogued,  to  treat  the  symptoms  of  disease 
with  little  reference  to  its  causes,  to  have  remedies  set  down 
in  the  book  appropriate  to  each  ache  and  pain  and  fever  and 
chill,  and  thus  to  dispense  with  thought.  Students  were 
prepared  in  a  few  months  to  practice  medicine  in  this  way. 
A  frightful  record  of  failure  to  cure  soon  evinced  the  folly 
of  this  education.  But  it  would  have  been  equally  foolish 
to  send  the  young  physician  into  the  world  with  no  prepa- 
ration except  the  mastery  of  the  laws  of  reasoning.  It  is 
even  more  necessary  for  the  minister  than  for  the  lawyer 
and  the  physician  to  be  acquainted  with  a  wide  range  of 
truth  and  also  to  be  able  to  employ  it  thoughtfully  and 
wisely.  To  administer  error  to  his  people  is  as  much  more 
hurtful  than  to  administer  poison  as  the  soul  is  of  greater 
value  than  the  body,  and  as  eternity  is  longer  than  time.  Tc 


78  THK  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

administer  truth  to  them  is  the  one  function  of  his  office, 
since  it  is  only  by  means  of  the  truth  that  God  will  bring 
them  to  repentance  and  afterward  perfect  them  in  holi- 
ness: "Sanctify  them  through  the  truth;  thy  word  is 
truth. ' '  Yet  truth,  to  be  effectual,  must  be  presented  in 
reasoned  forms;  the  minister  must  use  it  so  as  to  convince 
and  to  persuade ;  he  must  interpret  it  to  the  mind  and  to  the 
heart ;  he  must  adapt  it  to  the  various  characters,  to  the  ex- 
perience, and  to  the  wants  of  his  hearers :  and  hence  he  must 
think. 

* '  I  conclude,  therefore,  that  it  is  the  function  of  a  divinity 
school  to  teach  both  what  to  believe  and  how  to  think. 

*  *  But  let  us  assume  for  a  moment  that  the  chief  aim  of  the 
divinity  school  should  be  to  make  thinkers  of  students.  Let 
us  then  ask  how  this  can  best  be  done.  Various  methods 
have  been  employed,  and  I  request  you  to  look  at  them. 

' '  First.  The  education  which  appeals  chiefly  to  the  mem- 
ory has  often  been  tried,  and  it  is  still  in  favor  with  many. 
It  prevails  in  England  in  those  schools  which  exist  for  the 
purpose  of  training  young  men  for  the  civil  service  examina- 
tions. It  prevails  in  this  country  in  a  large  number  of  pri- 
vate schools  which  secure  patronage  by  guaranteeing  to  fit 
any  student  for  college  in  a  given  length  of  time,  often  very 
brief.  In  a  school  of  this  kind  there  is  a  large  body  of 
teachers,  each -one  of  whom  has  certain  hours  of  work  in 
the  class  room  and  certain  other  hours  of  private  tutoring, 
during  which  he  communicates  to  the  student  the  tasks  of 
the  coming  day.  The  student  does  not  acquire;  he  only 
receives. 

' '  Such  an  appeal  to  the  memory  once  constituted  the  prin- 
cipal function  of  the  teacher,  and  this  method  of  education 
was  predominant  in  the  lower  schools  of  the  whole  world 
throughout  the  seventeenth  century,  and  a  large  part  of  the 
eighteen.  It  was  reinforced  by  the  daily  use  of  the  rod. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  79 

Boys  and  girls  were  prepared  for  life  as  geese  are  prepared 
for  the  market  in  Strassburg,  where  they  are  kept  in  cages; 
and  crammed  with  food  through  a  pipe  thrust  down  their 
necks.  This  was  supposed  to  be  the  only  successful  method 
of  making  thinkers;  but  we  now  know  that  the  student  re- 
sembled a  goose  not  only  while  he  was  subjected  to  it,  but 
also  afterward  so  long  as  he  lived. 

"Are  there  any  schools  in  which  men  are  trained  for  the 
the  ministry  chiefly  by  the  communication  of  truths  to  be 
accepted  with  little  regard  to  their  systematic  arrangement 
or  their  relation  to  human  reason  and  with  no  requirement 
of  independent  research?  I  could  name  several.  Their 
supporters  believe  that  the  method  which  prevails  in  them 
produces  trained  thinkers.  There  is  no  ground,  however 
on  which  it  can  be  justified,  and  it  must  prove  as  inadequate 
in  a  divinity  school  as  elsewhere. 

"Another  method  of  teaching  men  to  think  is  that  of  spec- 
ulation. Its  native  home  is  Germany,  that  land  of  great 
realities  and  great  dreams;  but  like  many  other  natives  of 
Germany  it  has  emigrated,  and  other  countries  are  now  re- 
ceiving whatever  good  or  evil  it  has  to  give.  Look  back  at 
the  great  outburst  of  pantheistic  philosophy  under  Fichte, 
Schelling,  and  Hegel,  a  storm  which  bore  everything  before 
it,  and  drew  into  its  vortex  every  faculty  of  philosophy  in 
the  German  universities.  No  professor  was  called  a  thinker 
who  opposed  its  course,  and  any  professor  was  reckoned  as 
a  thinker  if  he  could  expound  and  extend  these  speculations. 
Students  rushed  in  thousands  to  the  lectures  of  such  men, 
confident  that  they  were  being  taught  to  think.  This  is 
but  one  example  which  might  be  produced.  The  history  of 
theological  education  is  especially  full  of  them ;  for  theolog- 
ical faculties  of  Germany  have  been  swept  off  their  feet  re* 
peatedly  by  overflowing  floods  of  speculation  which  have 
had  "their  little  day  and  ceased  to  be." 


80  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

"But  is  there  no  difference  between  a  theorizer  and  a 
thinker  ?  The  theorizer  has  his  office  in  the  world ;  he  sug- 
gests many  false  things  and  some  true  ones;  he  stimulates 
the  imagination  and  provokes  discussion ;  he  is  the  Will-o  '- 
the  wisp  of  science,  dancing  forward  to  lure  it  to  regions 
hitherto  dim  and  unknown,  but  preferring  to  hold  his  course 
over  the  marshes  and  jungles  where  it  is  dangerous  to  fol- 
low. The  thinker  has  a  far  higher  place.  The  thinker  is 
the  man  who  thinks  soberly,  justly,  profoundly;  who  can 
distinguish  the  proposition  that  is  proved  from  the  proposi- 
tion that  is  only  probable  and  this  again  from  the  proposi- 
tion that  is  only  possible  or  certainly  false.  If  the  divinity 
faculty  spends  a  great  deal  of  its  time  in  teaching  the  gor- 
geous theories  which  have  come  and  gone  in  the  past,  or 
which  dazzle  the  eyes  of  the  visionary  in  the  present,  it  will 
not  make  thinkers,  but,  on  the  contrary,  will  send  into  the 
pulpits  of  the  world  a  multitude  of  speculators  and  dream- 
ers to  dazzle  their  hearers,  but  not  to  enlighten  them. 

"Once  more.  Educators  have  sometimes  supposed  that 
students  could  be  trained  to  think  by  dwelling  chiefly  on  the 
laws  of  thought,  the  science  of  logic,  the  method  of  detect- 
ing fallacies.  This  was  the  theory  of  the  middle  ages,  and 
even  the  divinity  faculties  of  the  great  universities  taught 
the  logic  of  Aristotle  far  more  diligently  than  the  Bible  or 
the  creed.  This  logic  was  greatly  extended  in  its  range, 
and  became  an  intricate  algebra.  We  study  it  in  our  col- 
leges chiefly  as  a  curiosity  of  history,  devoting  a  month  or 
six  weeks  to  it ;  but  at  Paris  and  Oxford  and  Bologna  it  re- 
quired years.  The  students  were  usually  candidates  for  the 
priesthood.  What  was  the  result  of  the  excessive  cultiva- 
tion of  the  art  of  reasoning  ?  The  student  gathered  no  suf- 
ficient materials  on  which  to  exercise  his  art,  so  that,  in 
general,  it  remained  a  mere  art.  At  its  very  best  it  gave 
us  the  old  scholastic  philosophy  and  theology,  which  the 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  81 

world  was  already  laughing  to  scorn  before  the  Reforma- 
tion appeared.  It  affected  preaching  disastrously,  for  the 
preacher  who  did  not  interlard  his  sermons  with  its  unintel- 
ligible jargon  was  supposed,  even  by  the  common  people, 
not  to  be  able  to  think,  and  could  not  get  a  hearing.  Try 
to  read  one  of  the  sermons  of  Wiclif ,  and  fancy  it  addressed 
to  men  and  women,  many  of  whom  did  not  know  the  alpha- 
bet ;  nay,  fancy  it  addressed  to  an  assembly  of  the  greatest 
scholars.  Then,  while  you  are  amazed  that  such  an  appa- 
ratus of  scholastic  logic  was  ever  brought  into  the  pulpit, 
remember  that  Wiclif  was  freer  from  it  than  others  of  his 
age.  Here  is  a  fragment  from  The  Saint's  Tragedy,  by 
Kingsley,  in  which  a  heretic  preacher  of  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury is  represented  as  imitating  the  sermons  of  friars  which 
he  had  heard : 

"This  man  shed  blood,  and  by  man  shall  his  blood  be 
shed.  Now  behold  an  argument.  This  man  hath  shed 
blood,  even  Conrad ;  ergo,  as  he  saith  himself,  ye,  if  ye  are 
men,  shall  shed  his  blood.  Does  he  not  himself  say  ergo? 
Hath  he  not  said  ergo,  to  the  poor  saints,  to  your  sons  and 
your  daughters,  whom  he  hath  burned  in  the  fire  to  Moloch  ? 
'Ergo,  thou  art  a  heretic.'  'Ergo,  thou  shalt  burn.'  Is 
he  not  therefore  convicted  out  of  his  own  mouth?" 

"Much  of  the  preaching  of  the  middle  ages  was  as  tech- 
nical and  idiotic  as  this. 

"A  similar  mistake  was  made  at  a  later  period  in  refer- 
ence to  the  new  logic,  the  inductive  method  of  reasoning. 
Bacon  supposed  that  it  could  be  acquired  and  practiced  .by 
any  man,  so  that  he  would  think  safely  and  soundly  by  fol- 
lowing its  rules. 

uThe  over-valuation  of  the  science  of  logic,  whether  de- 
ductive or  inductive,  has  been  remedied.  But  it  would  be 
possible  for  us  to  substitute  for  the  rules  of  reasoning  in 
general  the  rules  of  reasoning  in  some  limited  field  of  in- 


82  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

quiry.  We  might  devote  so  much  time  to  the  method  of 
astronomical  research  as  to  slight  the  substance  of  astron- 
omy and  leave  the  student  ignorant  of  it.  We  might  devote 
so  much  time  to  the  elements  of  criticism  in  art  and  litera- 
ture as  to  slight  art  and  literature  themselves,  and  leave  the 
student  ignorant  of  them.  We  might  devote  so  much  time 
to  the  criticism  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  as  to  slight 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments  themselves,  and  send  our  stu- 
dents to  the  churches  ignorant  of  these  divine  treasures  of 
knowledge.  Thinkers  would  not  be  made  in  this  way. 

"How 'then  shall  we  teach  the  student  to  think?  Cer- 
tainly not  by  overlooking  the  laws  of  reasoning  in  general, 
or  in  the  special  fields  of  bibical,  theological,  and  historical 
criticism.  Certainly  not  by  overlooking  the  great  theories 
which  have  arisen  in  the  history  of  the  church.  Certainly 
not  by  neglecting  the  memory.  These  things  have  their 
places  in  any  just  scheme  of  education,  and  the  method 
which  I  shall  recommend  embraces  them  all. 

' '  It  also  unites  the  two  alternatives  presented  in  the  ques- 
tion before  us,  so  that  they  cease  to  be  alternatives,  and  be- 
come but  parts  of  a  harmonious  whole. 

"Let  us  look  at  the  first  alternative.  The  best  way  to 
teach  a  student  what  to  believe  is  to  present  the  truth  to 
him  in  ordered  form  and  in  the  light  of  reason,  requiring 
him,  at  the  same  time,  to  gain  much  of  it  by  his  own  search- 
ing. None  of  you  will  question  this,  and  I  need  not  dwell 
on  it. 

' '  Let  us  now  look  at  the  second  alternative.  The  best  way 
to  teach  a  student  how  to  think  is  to  present  the  truth  to  him 
in  an  ordered  form  and  in  the  light  of  reason,  requiring 
him,  at  the  same  time,  to  gain  much  of  it  by  his  own  search- 
ing. This  proposition  may  not  be  quite  so  obvious  as  the 
preceding  one,  and  I  shall  spend  a  moment  in  seeking  to 
commend  it  to  you. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  83 

1 '  First  of  all,  it  requires  that  truth  shall  be  presented  in  a 
logical  form,  a  system,  an  organic  and  well-proportioned 
body.  The  truth  is  not  necessarily  science;  it  becomes 
science  only  when  it  assumes  such  a  form  as  this ;  and  when 
it  is  set  forth  as  a  science  it  begets  a  scientific  habit  of 
thought  in  the  student.  He  spends  several  years  in  com- 
muning with  truth  thus  arranged,  and  his  mind  acquires  a 
habit  of  good  arrangement ;  careless  methods  of  thought  be- 
come odious  to  him;  and  when  he  writes  or  preaches  his 
productions  manifest  order,  proportion  and  progress.  More- 
over, growing  accustomed  to  arrange  his  thoughts  system- 
atically, he  soon  learns  to  make  the  system  which  he  con- 
structs a  test  of  thought,  for  he  discovers  that  the  proposi- 
tion which  an  organized  body  of  truth  rejects  and  casts  out 
is  probably  false,  while  the  proposition  to  which  such  a  body 
gives  hospitable  welcome  is  probably  true.  In  this  method 
there  is  an  appeal  to  memory.  But  there  is  also  a  cogent 
appeal  to  thought,  and  such  an  appeal  as  trains  the  mind  to 
think  in  an  orderly  and  sound  manner. 

' '  But  once  more.  My  proposition  requires  that  the  system 
of  truth  be  set  forth  in  the  light  of  reason.  The  grounds 
on  which  it  rests  are  to  be  adduced,  and  also  the  chief  con- 
siderations which  might  be  urged  against  it.  Thus  the 
great  theories  of  Christian  history  will  be  brought  forward. 
But  they  will  not  be  regarded  as  the  chief  subjects  of  study; 
they  will  be  assigned  to  a  subordinate  place,  while  the  truth 
itself  will  be  most  prominent.  Thus  also  an  apparatus  of 
criticism  will  spring  up  and  will  be  used  in  subordination 
to  the  subject  criticised.  In  this  part  of  his  work  the 
teacher  will  take  care  to  cast  upon  his  subject  the  clear  sun- 
light of  reason,  and  not  the  dim  and  deceptive  starlight  of 
sophistry  or  partisan  passion.  He  will  take  care  also  not 
to  permit  his  strong  personality  and  his  great  skill  in  argu- 
ment to  overwhelm  his  students.  He  will  encourage  them 


84  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

to  think  independently,  to  differ  from  him  if  they  wish,  and 
to  enter  upon  new  provinces  of  thought  with  zeal  and  con- 
fidence. Sir  William  Hamilton  devoted  one  hour  each  week 
to  conversing  with  his  students  about  any  objections  and 
difficulties  which  his  teachings  had  occasioned  in  their 
minds.  Such  an  exercise  would  be  profitable  if  the  teacher 
should  conduct  it  in  a  fair  and  open  manner,  gladly  recog- 
nizing any  valuable  suggestion  from  the  learners,  and  en- 
couraging them  to  think  for  themselves.  It  would  be  hurt- 
fill  if  he  should  be  intolerant  of  criticism  or  too  dominant  in 
his  defense  of  his  own  positions. 

"Lastly,  the  method  requires  the  student  to  spend  much 
time  in  investigation.  It  does  not  merely  encourage  him  to 
do  so ;  it  lays  upon  him  a  command  to  do  so ;  and  it  denies 
him  full  credit  if  he  fails  to  do  so.  The  teachers  can  pre- 
sent to  him  only  the  central  things,  and  he  is  to  gain  other 
things  by  his  own  industry.  Thus  the  divinity  school  ceases 
to  be  a  mere  refectory  where  he  nourishes  himself  at  tables 
prepared  for  him,  and  becomes  only  a  gymnasium  where  he 
trains  and  develops  every  faculty  and  power  of  the  mind 
for  ardent  and  skillful  exertion  in  the  ministry  to  which  he 
is  called. ' '  By  Professor  Franklin  Johnson,  D.  D.,  Univer- 
sity Record,  Chicago. 

8.  Although  the  foregoing  experiments  suffice  to  show 
that  the  periodic  variations  were  of  central  rather  than  of 
peripheral  origin,  I  sought  a  method  of  experimentation 
which  would  enable  me  to  form  a  clearer  idea  of  the  relative 
influence  exerted  on  the  height  of  the  contractions  by  the 
fatigue  of  the  muscles  and  the  change  occurring  in  the  cen- 
tral nervous  system.  At  the  suggestion  of  Professor  Mosso 
the  following  form  of  experiment  was  adopted.  The  flexor 
muscles  of  the  second  finger,  weighted  with  one  kilogramme, 
were  stimulated  every  two  seconds.  Two  different  forms 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  85 

of  stimuli  were  employed,  electrical  and  voluntary  stimuli, 
and  they  were  applied  alternately.  During  the  electrical 
irritation,  the  nerves  and  muscles  were  stimulated  by  a 
tetanizing  induction  current,  one  of  the  electrodes  being 
placed  over  the  sternum,  the  other  over  the  muscle. 
Pamphlet  on  Effect  of  Fatigue,  p.  11. 

9.  Your  commission  has  found  it  necessary  to  discuss 
the  question  of  methods  of  teaching  in  numerous  instances, 
while  considering  the  question  of  educational  values  and 
programs,  because  the  value  and  time  of  beginning  of  the 
several  branches  depends  so  largely  on  the  method  of  teach- 
ing.    Report  of  Committee  of  Fifteen,  p.  69. 

10.  The  usual  way  of  computing  interest  is  based  on  360 
days  to  the  year.     By  the  exact  method  the  actual  number 
of  days  is  found  and  is  regarded  as  so  many  365ths  of  a 
year.     This  rule  is  the  one  adopted  by  banks  and  the  United 
States  Government,  and  it  is  growing  in  favor  among  busi- 
ness men.    When  the  time  in  days  is  less  than  1  year,  the 
exact  interest  is  found  by  first  calculating  the  interest  ac* 
cording  to  the  methods  already  given,  and  deducting  ^ 
from  the  result  of  the  common  years  and  ^\    for  the  leap 
years.     Complete  Indiana  Arithmetic,  p.  220. 

11.  When  work  has  become  a  habit,  and  the  pupil  has 
learned  to  practice  the  right  method  from  his  own  impulse 
rather  than  on  account  of  external  authority,  his  education 
in  school  has  ended. 

But  the  subject  must  be  adapted  to  the  consciousness  of 
the  pupil,  and  here  the  order  of  procedure  and  the  exposition 
depend  upon  the  stage  which  he  has  reached  intellectually, 
for  the  special  manner  of  instruction  must  be  conditioned 
by  this.  If  he  is  in  the  stage  of  sense-perception,  we  must 
use  the  illustrative  method;  if  in  the  stage  of  image  concep- 
tion, that  of  combination;  and  if  in  the  stage  of  thinking, 


86         THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

that  of  demonstration.  The  first  exhibits  the  object  di- 
rectly, or  some  representation  of  it ;  the  second  considers  it 
according  to  the  different  possibilities  which  exist  in  it,  and 
turns  it  around  on  all  sides  (and  examines  its  relations  to 
other  things)  ;  the  third  demonstrates  the  necessity  of  the 
relations  in  which  it  stands  either  with  itself  or  with  others. 
This  is  the  natural  order  from  the  standpoint  of  the  devel- 
oping intelligence;  first,  the  object  is  presented  to  the  per- 
ception ;  then  combination  with  other  things  shows  its  rela- 
tions and  presents  its  different  phases ;  and,  finally,  the 
thinking  activity  circumscribes  the  recklessly  moving  reflec- 
tion by  the  idea  of  necessity.  Experiment  in  the  method  of 
combination  is  an  excellent  means  for  a  discovery  of  rela- 
tions, for  a  sharpening  of  the  attention,  for  the  arousing  of 
a  many-sided  interest ;  but  it  is  no  true  dialectic,  though  it 
be  often  denoted  by  that  name.  Eoserikmnz's  Philosophy 
of  Education,  1889,  p.  xiv  in  Analysis  of  Contents;  in  body 
of  book,  p.  98. 

12.  Hegel  employes  in  this  voyage  of  discovery  a  method 
that  he  names  the  "dialectic."  It  has  throughout  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  a  stricter  method  than  that  of  Fichte's 
" Science  of  Knowledge,"  and  claims  to  be  objective — an 
exhibition  of  the  necessity  of  the  process  which  is  in  the  ob- 
ject before  us,  in  contradistinction  from  mere  subjective 
reflection  upon  it  made  from  points  of  view  external  to  the 
object. 

Hegel's  method  does  not  seek  to  find  an  external  basis  of 
attack  or  defense,  but  to  get  this  basis  from  the  object  it- 
self. 

Here  we  have  the  famous  dialectic  which  is  described  as 
the  self-movement  of  the  notion  (Begriff).  Seize  an  im- 
perfect idea  and  it  will  show  up  its  imperfection  by  leading 
to  and  implying  another  idea  as  a  more  perfect  or  complete 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  87 

form  of  it.  Its  imperfection  will  show  itself  as  dependence 
on  another.  This  is  the  philosophic  method  seen  so  clearly 
by  Plato  and  stated  in  his  Republic  (Book  VII,  chapter  3). 
Pure  science  according  to  him  has  a  dialectic  method  and 
starts  with  hypotheses — or,  as  we  should  describe  them,  de- 
pendent ideas,  ideas  that  imply  other  ideas  to  make  them 
possible,  just  as  the  idea  of  inner  and  outer  or  positive  and 
negative  imply  each  other.  But  this  dialectic  method  annuls 
these  hypotheses  on  its  way  towards  the  highest  principle. 
******  The  etymological  ground  is  a  dan- 
gerous one,  however,  and  it  is  better  not  to  build  on  it. 
Plato  seems  to  mean  that  the  dialectic  method  starts  with 
premises  given  by  sense-perception  and  ordinary  reflection, 
and  seeking  the  presuppositions  of  these  ascends  to  the 
first  principle.  An  example  of  this  is  found  in  the  infer- 
ence of  independent  being  as  the  necessary  condition  for 
the  existence  of  dependent  being,  and  this  may  be  said 
to  be  the  substantial  insight  lying  at  the  basis  of  all  true 
philosophy.  Plato  contrasts  this  method  of  ascending  from 
the  imperfect  to  the  perfect  by  discovering  presupposi- 
tions with  the  geometric  method  that  uses  axioms  or  fixed 
hypotheses,  not  being  able  to  deduce  them  or  explain  them. 
Hegel's  Logic,  1890,  pp.  57,  58,  174,  175. 

PEDAGOGICAL   MEANINGS. 

1.  Method  of  presenting. 

a.  Teach  the  poem  as  a  reading  lesson.     If  the  thought 
is  mastered  the  song  will  be  full  of  meaning,  and  will  not 
be  given  as  a  mere  saying  of  words. 

b.  Teach  the  melody  by  singing  each  phrase  until  it  is 
correctly  given.     Outline  of  Music  for  Township  Institute 
Work,  Vigo  County  Schools,  1896-7. 

2.  Francis  Bacon  had  little  apitude  for  scientific  re- 


88  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

search.  He  added  nothing  to  the  sum  of  scientific  knowl- 
edge, yet  he  gave  his  name  to  the  scientific  method,  and 
wrote  a  book  which  in  epoch-making  power  stands  beside 
Descarte's  Discourse,  Newton's  Principia,  and  Darwin 's 
Origin  of  Species.  *  *  *  Thus  at  the  outset  Bacon  sees 
that  there  is  a  method  by  which  all  human  knowledge  can 
be  placed  upon  a  sound  and  permanent  basis,  and  he  de- 
voted the  better  part  of  his  life  to  the  attempt  to  discover 
or  invent  such  a  method.  His  first  aphorism  printed  at  the 
head  of  this  chapter,  indeed,  its  very  first  line,  ' '  a  man,  the 
servant  and  interpreter  of  nature,"  embodies  the  whole  of 
the  scientific  spirit  and  the  scientific  method.  *  * 
These  subjects  are  discussed  with  constant  reference  to  the 
new  method  which  he  believes  able  and  destined  to  work  a 
revolution  in  human  thought  and  life.  *  *  *  (1) 
Methods  used.  The  logic  now  in  use  serves  rather  to  fix 
and  give  stability  to  the  errors  which  have  their  foundation 
in  commonly  received  notions  than  to  help  the  search  for 
truth.  The  syllogism  consists  of  propositions,  propositions 
consist  of  words,  words  are  symbols  of  notions.  Therefore 
if  the  notions  themselves  are  confused  there  can  be  no  firm- 
ness in  the  superstructure.  It  commands  assent  to  the 
proposition,  but  does  not  take  hold  of  the  thing.  There  are 
and  can  be  only  two  ways  of  searching  into  and  discover- 
ing truth.  The  one  rises  from  the  senses  and  particulars 
to  the  most  general  axioms,  (laws),  and  from  these  princi- 
ples, the  truth  of  which  it  takes  for  settled  and  immovable, 
proceeds  to  judgment  and  to  the  discovery  of  middle 
axioms.  And  this  way  is  now  in  fashion.  The  other  de- 
rives axioms  from  the  senses,  and  particulars,  rising  by  a 
gradual  and  unbroken  ascent,  so  that  it  arrives  at  the  most 
general  axioms  last  of  all.  This  is  the  true  way,  but  as  yet 
untried.  It  can  not  be  that  axioms  established  by  argumen- 
tation should  avail  for  the  discovery  of  new  works;  since 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  89 

the  subtlety  of  nature  is  greater  many  times  over  than  the 
subtlety  of  argument.  But  axioms  duly  and  orderly 
formed  from  particulars  easily  discover  the  way  to  new 
particulars,  and  thus  render  science  active.  The  only  hope, 
therefore,  lies  in  a  true  induction.  One  method  of  deliv- 
ery alone  remains  to  us,  which  is  simply  this :  we  must  lead 
men  to  the  particulars  themselves,  and  their  series  and  or- 
der; ivhile  men  on  their  side  must  force  themselves  for 
awhile  to  lay  their  notions  by  and  begin  to  familiarize  them- 
selves  with  facts.  The  conclusions  of  human  reason  as 
ordinarily  applied  in  matters  of  nature,  I  call  for  the  sake 
of  distinction,  Anticipations  of  Nature  (as  a  thing  rash 
or  premature).  That  reason  which  is  elicited  from  just 
and  methodical  process  I  call  Interpretation  of  Nature. 
Baconian  Revolt,  Inland  Educator,  October,  1895. 

3.  But  it  is  no  less  true  that  these  complaints  are  due  in 
no  small  measure  to  false  methods  of  linguistic  training 
generally,  or  to  some  cherished  prejudices  in  favor  of  certain 
languages  on  the  part  of  the  teachers ;  and  it  becomes,  there- 
fore, at  the  present  day,  a  matter  of  great  practical  impor- 
'tance  to  inquire  how  far  our  traditional  methods  of  teaching 
languages  are  in  conformity  with  the  method  of  Nature  in 
her  great  art  of  thought-utterance,  and  how  far  they  may 
justly  be  called  on  to  submit  themselves  to  a  revision  and  a 
reconstitution. 

As  language  is  a  function  which  belongs  as  much  to  every 
normal  human  creature  as  seeing  or  hearing,  there  can  be 
no  difficulty  in  finding  out  the  method  of  Nature  in  its  ac^ 
quisition.  We  have  to  answer  only  two  questions:  first, 
what  are  the  factors  of  the  process  by  which  the  human 
babe  from  being  capable  merely  of  inarticulate  cries,  like 
any  of  the  lower  animals,  is  developed  into  an  easy  and 
graceful  manipulator  of  articulate  speech?  and  again,  How 
far,  and  in  what  respects,  does  this  model  require  to  be 


90  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

modified  in  order  to  enable  the  expert  handlers  of  the  mother 
tongue  to  use  any  second  or  third  language  with  like  ex- 
pertness  ? 

Why  does  it  seem  such  a  difficult  business  to  acquire  a 
familiar  knowledge  of  any  foreign  language,  and  why  so 
much  brain  and  so  much  time  spent  so  frequently  on  their 
acquisition  with  such  scanty  results?  The  answer  can  be 
only  one:  because  your  teacher  has  ignored  the  method  of 
Nature,  and  given  you  a  bad  substitute  for  it  in  his  own  de- 
vices ;  instead  of  speaking  to  you  and  making  you  respond, 
in  direct  connection  of  the  old  object  with  the  new  sound, 
and  thus  forming  a  living  bond  between  the  thinking  soul, 
the  perceptive  sense,  and  the  significant  utterance,  he  sends 
you  to  a  book,  there  to  cram  yourself  with  dead  rules  and 
lifeless  formulas  about  the  language,  in  the  middle  of  which 
he  ought  to  have  planted  you  at  the  start. 

These  things  being  so,  and  the  method  of  nature  being  so 
plain  in  the  matter,  we  now  ask  what  are  the  causes  that 
have  led  so  many  of  our  teachers,  even  the  most  accom 
plished  of  their  class,  to  neglect  so  infallible  a  guide,  and  to 
follow  methods  of  linguistic  inculcation  equally  unpleasant 
in  the  process  and  unprofitable  in  the  result? 

Let  books  and  not  living  converse  be  the  final  end  of  the 
study  of  languages ;  so  they  certainly  are  with  the  dead  lan- 
guages; but  even  with  regard  to  them  it  is  quite  certain 
that  the  familiarity  and  frequent  repetition  which  are  the 
special  virtues  of  the  conversational  method  both  render  the 
mastery  of  books,  as  in  the  case  of  the  mother  tongue,  more 
complete,  and  the  hold  of  the  printed  signature  at  once 
more  firm  in  the  grasp  and  more  easy  in  the  approach. 

There  is  one  other-  objection  to  the  conversational  method 
in  the  teaching  of  languages,  viz:  that  it  makes  a  man  a 
parrot.  Well,  a  parrot  is  an  imitative  animal  and  so  is  a 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  91 

man,  and  so  far  must  not  be  ashamed  to  own  his  kinship 
with  the  plumy  prattler. 

In  conclusion,  I  have  a  word  or  two  to  say  with  regard  to 
the  occasion  and  the  plan  of  this  little  book.  In  the  first 
place,  whatever  may  be  said  of  Hebrew  or  Latin,  Greek  is  a 
living  language,  and  must  be  treated  as  such  even  by  those 
who  persist  in  the  notion  that,  while  the  method  of  living 
vocal  appeal  applies  in  its  full  extent  to  modern  languages, 
it  is  certainly  out  of  place  in  the  treatment  of  the  two  an- 
cient languages  which  justly  claim  the  first  place  in  the  lin- 
guistic culture  of  our  highest  schools. 

But  since  that  time,  as  a  natural  consequence  of  the  great 
educational  movement  of  the  age,  some  very  distinct  voices 
have  come  to  my  ear,  to  the  effect  that  there  is  something 
radically  wrong  in  our  way  of  dealing  with  languages,  and 
that  the  method  of  teaching  by  rules  and  grammar  mainly 
can  no  longer  be  tolerated. 

When  the  young  Hellenist  has  stamped  its  Greek  desig- 
nation directly  on  every  object  that  meets  his  eyes,  and  con- 
nected it  with  some  single  verb  that  belongs  to  its  signifi- 
cance in  familiar  life,  I  would  then  suggest  that  the  teacher 
besides  the  daily  repetition  of  certain  forms  of  common  con- 
versation, should  give  a  viva  voce  description  of  pictures 
hung  on  the  wall  two  or  three  times  a  week,  which  the 
learner  shall  be  called  on  to  repeat  without  any  written 
notes ;  the  principle  of  the  method  being  always  to  maintain 
the  direct  action  of  the  mind  on  the  object,  through  the  in- 
strumentality of  the  new  sound,  without  the  intervention 
of  the  mother  tongue. 

One  other  matter  requires  special  notice — a  matter  not 
necessarily  connected  with  the  colloquial  method,  but  which 
may  be  wisely  used  as  a  help.  To  each  lesson  I  have  ap- 
pended a  short  list  of  English  words,  either  by  family  affin- 
ity, or  by  direct  borrowing  through  the  Latin,  radically 


92  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

identical    with    the    Greek.     Preface    in    Blackie's    Greek 
Primer )  pp.  v  to  xv. 

4.  In  this  paper  I  attempt  to  contrast  the  methods  of 
the  Kindergarten  with  those  of  the  Primary  School  as  it 
exists  and  has  existed  in  America,  not  with  the  intention  of 
disparaging  either  of  these  institutions,  but  in  order  to  point 
out  a  certain  fitness  of  each  method  for  its  work  in  hand. 
I  claim  here,  and  I  claimed  long  ago  when  I  recommended 
the  school  board  of  St.  Louis  in  1872  to  establish  a  kin- 
dergarten, that  the  presence  of  a  kindergarten  in  a  sys- 
tem of  public  schools  will,  of  itself,  work  some  change  in 
the  methods  of  the  primary  school,  that  will  be  a  great  bene- 
fit to  those  methods.  But  I  wish  to  show  that  the  methods 
of  the  primary  schools,  substantially  as  they  are,  have  a 
foundation  in  reason,  and  that  it  is  not  well  for  our  friends 
of  the  kindergarten  to  look  always  in  the  direction  of  a  revo* 
lution  in  the  methods  of  the  primary  school,  and  the  adop- 
tion of  plays  and  games  and  gifts  and  occupations,  or  some 
manual  training  modification  of  these  in  the  course  of  in- 
struction for  children  from  the  age  of  seven  to  twelve  years. 
On  the  other  hand  I  hope  to  convince  the  friends  of  the  pri- 
mary schools  that  their  methods  are  not  good  for  children 
under  seven  years,  but  that  the  kindergarten  methods  are 
most  happily  devised  for  children  of  the  tender  age — 
between  four  and  six  years.  As  teachers  we  must  not  get 
the  method  which  we  practice  in  the  special  grade  in  which 
we  are  teaching  so  close  to  our  eyes  that  it  shuts  out  all 
other  grades  and  all  other  methods.  We  must  study  educa- 
tion in  view  of  the  entire  life  of  man,  and  never  forget  that 
work  with  the  children  is  to  fit  them  for  manhood  and 
womanhood.  It  is  not  our  object  to  prolong  childhood  for- 
ever; but  on  the  other  hand  we  wish  to  prevent  too  rapid 
transitions  from  one  stage  of  development  to  another.  We 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  93 

do  not  wish  to  see  a  hot-house  system  of  education,  forcing 
the  growth  of  our  human  plants  for  the  world  market. 
Harris'  Kindergarten  Methods,  pp.  3,  4. 

5.  According  to  the  classification  given  by  Professor 
Brooks  in  his  excellent  book  entitled,  "Normal  Methods  of 
Teaching,"  there  are  four  correct  methods  of  teaching  the 
noble  science  of  geography.      (1)    The  Analytic  Method. 
which  begins  with  the  world  as  a  whole,  and  passes  by  suc- 
cessive divisions  down  to  the  State,  county,  town  or  city  in 
which  we  reside;   (2)   The  Synthetic,  which  begins  at  the 
smaller  division,  as  a  schoolhouse,  yard,  town,  county,  etc.. 
and  passes  by  successive  enlargements  to  the  surface  of  the 
world;  (3)  The  Inductive,  which  begins  with  the  particular 
facts  of  science,  and  passes  to  their  classification  into  sys- 
tems; and  (4)  The  Deductive,  which  seizes  upon  the  laws 
or  general  characteristics  of  a  group  of  facts,  and  passes 
to  the  particulars  embraced  under  these  laws.     This  last 
method  is  more  than  analytic.     It  not  only  goes  from  the 
whole  to  its  parts,  but  from  the  general  to  the  particular. 
It  is  not  our  purpose  to  discuss  now  the  relative  value,  or 
the  proper  employment,  of  these  methods.     We  seek  the 
more  practical. 

Whether  the  method  of  teaching  the  whole  subject  of  geo- 
graphy be  analytic,  synthetic,  or  inductive,  we  recommend, 
in  place  of  following  the  text-book,  The  Topical  Method  of 
Study. 

We  do  this  with  much  confidence,  after  years  of  experi- 
ment and  diligent  search  for  light  on  the  subject,  because 
it  is  the  best  method  thus  far  found  by  which  to  create  un- 
bounded interest  among  pupils  in  this  study,  and  because  it 
enables  the  teacher  to  instruct  with  satisfaction  and  pleas- 
ure. King's  Methods  in  Geography,  1889,  pp.  44,  45. 

6.  In  teaching  the  art  of  reading,  he  may  teach  them  the 


94  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

sounds  of  whole  words,  and  by  comparison  evolve  the 
sounds  of  particular  letters;  or  he  may  associate  with  the 
several  letters  their  respective  sounds,  and  require  them  to 
construct  the  sounds  of  words  by  combination  of  the  letter- 
sounds;  the  one  course  is  analytic,  the  other  synthetic. 

But  methods  are  right  and  necessary  in  their  own  place ; 
they  are  parts  of  one  whole,  related  to  each  other  as  antece- 
dent and  consequent.  The  observation  of  particulars  is  an 
incomplete  and  fruitless  process,  unless  it  issue  in  the  estab- 
lishment and  application  of  general  principles ;  but  the  ap- 
plication of  such  principles  must  be  feeble  and  unreal  unless 
founded  on  previous  observation  and  particulars.  In  giv« 
ing  lessons,  therefore,  the  teacher  must  consider  which  of 
these  two  methods  mainly  or  wholly,  he  should  adopt. 
Currie's  Common  School  Education,  pp.  269,  270. 

1.  The  old,  long-established  method  in  arithmetic  is  cal- 
culated'to  teach  the  first  four  processes  of  addition,  subtrac- 
tion, multiplication,  division,  in  the  order  in  which  they  are 
named,  finishing  addition  with  small  and  large  numbers, 
before  subtraction  is  begun,  and  so  forth.  A  more  recent 
improvement  on  this  method  consisted  in  excluding  the  large 
numbers  altogether  at  the  beginning,  and  dividing  the  num- 
bers on  which  the  first  four  processes  were  taught,  into 
classes,  or  so-called  circles.  The  child  learns  each  of  the 
four  processes  with  the  small  numbers  of  the  first .  circle 
(i.  e.,  from  1  to  10)  before  the  larger  numbers  are  consid* 
ered ;  then  the  same  processes  are  taught  with  the  numbers 
of  the  second  circle,  from  10  to  100,  then  of  the  third,  from 
100  to  1,000,  and  so  forth. 

Grube,  however,  went  beyond  this  principle  of  classifica- 
tion. He  discarded  the  use  of  large  numbers,  hundreds  and 
thousands,  at  the  beginning  of  the  course,  as  others  had 
done  before  him ;  but  instead  of  dividing  the  primary  work 
in  arithmetic  into  three  or  four  circle  or  parts  only,  i.  e.. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  95 

from  1  to  10,  10  to  100,  etc.,  he  considered  each  number  as 
a  circle  or  part  by  itself,  and  taught  it  by  a  method  that  is  to 
be  set  forth  in  the  following  pages.  He  recommended  that 
the  child  should  learn  each  of  the  smaller  numbers  in  suc- 
cession, and  all  the  operations  within  the  range  of  each  num- 
ber, addition,  subtraction,  multiplication  and  division,  be- 
fore proceeding  to  the  consideration  of  the  next  higher 
number. 

In  the  following,  Mr.  Grube  gives  but  the  outline,  the 
skeleton  as  it  were,  of  his  method,  trusting  that  the  teacher 
will  supply  the  rest.  The  sign  of  division,  as  will  be  ex- 
plaineu  below,  should  be  read  at  the  beginning:  "From 
...  I  can  take  away  .  .  . —  times."  By  this  way  of 
reading,  the  connection  between  subtraction  and  division 
becomes  evident. 

I.     The  pure  number. 
a.     MEASURING  (comparing). 
•     •       2. 


1 


1 


1  +  1=2. 
2X1=2. 

2  -r-  1  =  2.     (Read  :     From  2    I   can   take 


away  1  twice. 

2  is  one  more  than  1. 

1  is  one  less  than  2. 

2  is  the  double  of  1,  or  twice  1. 
1  is  one-half  of  2. 

b.  PRACTICE  BY  SOLVING  EXAMPLES  RAPIDLY. 

1  +  1  =  ?      2  —  1=?     2  --  1  =  ?    1  +  1  —  1  X  2  —  ? 
etc. 

c.  COMBINATIONS.  • 

What  number  is  contained  twice  in  2? 
2  is  double  of  what  number  ? 


96  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

Of  what  number  is  1  one-half  ? 

Which  number  must  I  double  to  get  2  ? 

I  know  a  number  that  has  in  it  one  more  than  one. 
Which  is  it? 

What  number  have  I  to  add  to  1  in  order  to  get  2? 

II.     Applied  numbers. 

Fred  had  two  dimes,  and  bought  cherries  for  one  dime. 
How  many  dimes  had  he  left  ? 

A  slate-pencil  costs  1  cent.     How  much  will  two  slate- 
pencils  cost? 

Charles  had  a  marble,  and  his  sister  had  twice  as  many. 
How  many  did  she  have? 

How  many  one-cent  stamps  can  you  buy  for  2  cents? 
Soldan's  Grube  Method,  1878,  pp.  5,  6,  10,  12. 

8.  "While   the   critics   are   condemning,    (the    Quincy 
methods]  they  are  found  to  be  diligent  in  applying  them; 
and  when  well  incorporated  into  their  own  work,  the  same 
persons,  unconsciously  to  themselves  perhaps,  will  be  bold 
to  claim  the  methods  as  of  their  own  originating. 

The  methods  of  the  Quincy  schools  are  the  methods  which 
have  been  used  and  are  being  adopted  wherever  they  are 
known  and  understood,  and  wherever  the  teachers  have  the 
skill  and  the  permission  to  employ  them. — George  A.  Wal- 
ton, of  Massachusetts  Board  of  Education,  in  "Methods  of 
the  Schools  of  Quincy,  Mass."  ("Education,"  September, 
October,  1883.)  The  Quincy  Methods,  1885,  Preface,  p.  iv. 

9.  It  is  not  incumbent  on  teachers  to  mark  out  a  course 
of  study,  for  that  is  always  provided,  or  at  least  should  be. 
It  is  their  function  to  interpret  and  teach  what  is  indicated 
in  the  course  of  study.    It  is  very  noticeable  that  the  ' '  eter- 
nal why  of  things"  has  not  been  as  carefully  considered 
and  answered  as  the  importance  of  the  work  demands. 

When  asked  why  we  teach  certain  things  in  a  certain 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  97 

manner  there  is  often  a  look  of  blank  surprise  which  ex- 
presses, at  least,  a  query  as  to  whether  work  and  methods 
are  legitimate  fields  of  investigation.  The  Inland  Educa- 
tor, Jan.  1897,  p.  291. 

10.  Geography,   well  taught,   is   an   educational  study 
cultivating  the  imagination  and  judgment,  as  well  as  the 
memory;  training  the  mind  in  both  observation  and  lan- 
guage.    Perhaps  no  other  branch  in  the  grammar-school 
curriculum  gives  opportunity  for  culture  in  so  many  direc- 
tions. 

Are  we  to  have  question  and  answer,  or  topical  recita- 
tions ?  Surely  both  have  a  place.  During  the  presentation 
of  new  points  the  Socratic  method  is  the  true  one.  The 
teacher  must  excite  mental  activity  in  the  class  by  skillful 
questioning.  The  children  must  be  led  to  think,  to  examine, 
to  express  the  results  of  their  study.  The  teacher  should 
tell  them  nothing  they  can  naturally  find  out  for  them- 
selves; but  their  earnest  study  should  be  supplemented  by 
bits  of  information,  vivid  descriptions  and  other  illustra- 
tions, given  by  the  teacher,  in  their  proper  connection. 
This,  and  this  alone,  is  true  oral  instruction,  the  direction 
of  the  mental  activity  of  the  pupils.  After  this  come  the 
memory-lessons,  the  definitions,  and  finally,  the  reproduc- 
ing of  the  different  points  of  the  geography  of  any  country, 
by  topical  recitations.  These  should  be  the  independent 
efforts  of  the  pupils,  expressed  in  their  own  language. 
Crocker's  Methods  in  Geography,  1884,  pp.  5,  6,  7,  10. 

11.  Address  delivered  at  the  Winter  Convocation  of  the 
Morgan  Park  Academy,  January  4,  1897,  by  Robert  H. 
Cornish : 

' '  Science  is  classified  knowledge.  When  the  facts  of  lan- 
guage, of  mathematics,  of  history  or  of  literature  are  put 
into  orderly  arrangement,  are  grouped  according  to  their 


98  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

relationship  and  are  explained  by  laws  then  we  have  the 
science  of  language,  of  mathematics,  or  of  literature.  Sci- 
ence thus  considered  includes  all  school  studies,  and  stu- 
dents of  the  branches  just  mentioned  are  students  of  science. 
This  is  not  the  use  of  the  word  in  our  subject.  According 
to  another  more  restricted  use  of  the  word,  science  includes 
a  classified  knowledge  of  things  objective,  that  is,  of  things 
that  have  their  existence  outside  the  human  mind.  Bunker 
Hill  and  patriotism,  broad  fields  and  contentment,  the  ocean 
and  sublimity  may  be  synonymous  terms,  but  as  subjects  of 
study  the  surface  of  the  earth  and  the  ocean  are  fundamen- 
tally different  from  hope  and  contentment. 

Science  then  is  classified  knowledge  of  the  facts  and  phe- 
nomena of  the  physical  universe  with  an  explanation  of  the 
reasons  of  these  phenomena  so  far  as  the  reasons  are  under- 
stood. But  the  physical  universe  is  a  very  large  affair  and 
is  constantly  growing  larger  through  our  increased  knowl- 
edge of  it.  The  men  who  attempt  to  include  the  whole 
range  of  the  physical  universe  in  their  studies  are  very  few. 
Humboldt  was  perhaps  the  last  of  a  line  of  scientific  work- 
ers who  kept  in  touch  with  all  branches  of  science  and  made 
contributions  to  all.  Scientific  workers  divide  and  subdi- 
vide their  work  and  thus  we  have  developed  those  great 
branches  of  scientific  study  of  which  physics,  biology,  and 
astronomy  are  examples.  These  branches  of  science  or 
sciences  are  grouped  into  two  great  divisions ;  ( 1 )  the  phy- 
sical sciences  or  those  which  deal  with  matter  and  energy. 
Physics,  chemistry,  and  geology,  are  physical  sciences.  (2) 
Those  which  deal  with  matter  and  energy  and  an  added 
something  called  life.  The  group  constitutes  the  biological 
sciences  and  includes  botany  and  zoology  .as  principal  mem- 
bers. 

Our  subject  then  is  the  value,  in  a  school  such  as  ours,  of 
the  training  of  one  or  more  sciences  not  as  opposed  to  but 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  99 

as  contrasted  and  compared  with  other  subjects  which  are 
studied  by  our  students. 

The  time  has  gone  by  when  it  was  necessary  to  enter 
into  any  defense  of  the  place  of  science  in  a  general  educa- 
tion. There  was  a  time  when  the  sciences  were  not  recog- 
nized as  necessary  in  a  college  course,  much  less  in  a  second- 
ary school.  Latin,  Greek,  and  mathematics,  with  mental 
and  moral  science  which  were  not  science  at  all,  were  about 
the  only  things  studied  at  Yale  College  one  hundred  years 
ago.  The  colleges  all  over  the  country  have  now  admitted 
science  studies  into  the  general  curriculum.  •  In  many  col- 
leges the  science  courses  are  elementary  in  character  and 
differ  not  at  all  from  those  given  in  many  high  schools. 
Into  secondary  schools  which  prepare  for  college  the  admis- 
sion of  science  studies  has  been  slower  than  into  the  colleges 
themselves.  Time  forbids  entering  into  a  full  discussion  of 
the  reasons  for  this.  I  agree  with  those  who  say  that  any 
subject  that  knocks  for  admission  at  the  door  of  our  already 
crowded  curriculum  should  justify  its  claim.  I  agree  with 
Professor  Eemsen  who  says  that  slipshod  laboratory  work 
in  science  is  a  very  poor  substitute  for  a  good  course  in 
Greek  or  mathematics.  If  science  courses  in  college  or  the 
academy  are  "snap"  courses,  if  they  do  not  as  a  rule  give 
either  the  mental  training  or  spiritual  quickening  that 
comes  from  other  courses  they  would  better  be  thrown  out. 
In  order  to  understand  better  the  value  of  science  in  school 
training  allow  me  to  describe  the  scientific  method  of  work. 

I  think  it  is  of  more  value  to  the  student  to  understand 
the  scientific  method,  to  develop  the  scientific  habit  of  mind 
than  it  is  to  acquire  a  few  or  even  many  facts  about  a  par- 
ticular science.  The  scientific  method  has  the  following 
steps:  (1)  The  collection  of  facts.  This  involves  observa- 
tion, classification,  comparison,  measurement.  If  the  ob- 
jects dealt  with  cannot  be  measured,  if  they  cannot  be 


100  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

counted,  or  weighed  in  a  balance,  then  they  do  not  belong  in 
the  realm  of  the  sciences  that  I  am  considering.  These  ob- 
servations it  may  take  years  to  collect.  This  part  of  the 
work  is  of  great  importance.  Every  notable  scientific 
achievement  rests  upon  a  long  continued  series  of  patient 
observations.  (2)  The  enunciation  of  a  general  law  which 
groups  and  explains  the  facts.  This  is  called  induction  or 
generalization.  The  larger  the  group  of  facts  examined, 
the  wider  the  generalization  must  be  to  include  them  all. 
(3)  The  third  step  is  verification  by  experiment.  This 
tests  the  law  discovered  by  applying  it  to  a  new  case  or  by 
bringing  forward  the  facts  not  known  when  the  law  was 
enunciated  which  prove  or  disprove  it.  If  our  facts  cover  a 
very  wide  range  of  phenomena,  especially  if  they  belong  to 
different  sciences  or  possibly  to  all  sciences,  then  the  gener- 
alization which  groups  and  explains  them  is  called  an  hypo- 
thesis. This  is  an  effort  of  the  scientific  imagination  to  ex- 
plain the  reasons  which  lie  back  of  the  laws  themselves,  or 
to  discover  a  more  general  law.  When  new  discoveries 
have  confirmed  the  hypothesis  it  becomes  a  theory  and  a 
theory  which  stands  the  test  of  years  and  to  which  excep- 
tions are  not  found  takes  its  place  among  the  accepted  body 
of  scientific  truth.  Let  me  illustrate  these  steps.  That  car- 
bonic-acid gas  consists  of  27  per  cent,  oxygen  is  one  of  a 
thousand  or  more  facts  known  to  chemists.  That  any  given 
chemical  compound  always  contains  the  same  elements  in 
the  same  proportion  by  weight  is  a  law  whose  establishment 
at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  was  attended  by  a 
long  and  spirited  controversy.  That  chemical  compounds 
consist  of  atoms  united  to  form  molecules  and  that  the 
atoms  unite  in  the  ratio  of  small  numbers  is  a  theory  which 
has  stood  the  test  of  one  hundred  years  of  verification  and 
which  seems  likely  to  become  a  part  of  the  body  of  scientific 
truth. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  101 

The  intellectual  faculties  called  into  exercise  in  these  pro- 
cesses are  the  powers  of  observation,  of  comparison,  of  in- 
ductive reasoning  or  generalization,  and  the  constructive 
imagination.  The  moral  qualities  which  are  developed  in 
scientific  work  are  patience  in  prolonged  investigation;  per- 
severance in  overcoming  obstacles,  and  openness  of  mind 
to  the  reception  of  new  truth.  It  is  not  clain'e^-t&at-these^ 
mental  and  moral  qualities  are  the  exclusive^  ppssessiop.  #| 
scientific  men.  Such  a  statement  wouldj  be/  flflmuii/  I  £0. 
claim  that  any  investigation  not  conducted  in  the  scientific 
method  is  of  very  doubtful  value.  The  dominant  motive  of 
the  scientific  worker  is  the  discovery  and  utilization  of 
truth.  To  push  out  the  boundary  of  human  knowledge,  to 
capture  some  of  the  territory  of  the  unknown  and  make  it 
known  is  his  great  aim. 

Other  motives  may  lead  him  on,  such  as  a  desire  for  fame, 
for  power,  or  for  wealth,  but  I  think  it  is  universally  ad- 
mitted that  the  joy  of  discovery  of  some -truth  new  to  the 
investigator  is  the  greatest  connected  with  his  work.  The 
rewards  of  the  scientific  worker  are :  ( 1 )  the  interest  and 
pleasure  of  his  work;  (2)  the  recognition  which  he  is  bound 
to  receive  if  his  work  is  well  done.  It  is  the  scientific 
workers  whose  discoveries  afford  the  means  of  improvement 
of  all  the  material  conditions  of  life.  Our  modern  civiliza- 
tion with  all  it  includes  of  material  comfort  is  a  monument 
to  the  scientific  thought  of  the  age.  It  is  not  the  rule,  how- 
ever, that  the  inventor  becomes  rich.  Neither  does  the  man 
of  science.  Agassiz  had  no  time  to  make  money.  Nor 
should  people  be  impatient  with  the  apparently  useless  dis- 
coveries made  by  men  of  science.  No  doubt  many  investi- 
gations will  never  bear  any  so-called  practical  fruit.  Yet 
many  apparently  useless  facts  brought  to  light  in  the  labor- 
atory have  upon  further  investigation  yielded  practical  re- 
sults. 


102  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

Why  then  do  we  advocate  science  in  the  schools  and  espe- 
cially in  the  secondary  schools? 

Because  the  habits  of  mind  which  have  been  de 
scribed  and  which  are  generally  characteristic  of  scientific 
men  are  worthy  of  cultivation,  and  some  of  these,  notably 
the  power -or  observation,  are  cultivated  by  no  study  so 
well  as  By  nature  _  study. 

The  study  of,  nature  does  or  should  beget  a  love  of 
nature  and  the  love  and  study  of  nature  become  a  source  of 
perennial  happiness  to  him  whose  eyes  have  been  trained  to 
see  her  beauties. 

"  To  him  who  in  the  love  of  nature  holds 
Communion  with  her  visible  forms  she  speaks 
A  various  language  :  for  his  gayer  hours 
She  has  a  voice  of  gladness  and  a  smile 
And  eloquence  of  beauty,  and  she  glides 
Into  his  darker  musings  with  a  mild 
And  healing  sympathy  that  steals  away 
Their  sharpness  ere  he  is  aware  " 

Anyone  who  has  acquired  a  love  of  good  books  and  an 
intelligent  interest  in  some  branch  of  natural  history  has 
two  never-failing  sources  of  happiness. 

The  study  of  science  and  the  influence  of  the  scien- 
tific method  lead  to  care  in  making  statements  and  check 
one  of  the  serious  faults  of  all  young  writers,  viz.,  the  ten- 
dency to  make  sweeping  and  exaggerated  statements.  Pro- 
fessor A.  H.  Tolman  of  the  Department  of  English  Litera- 
ture in  The  University  of  Chicago,  in  an  article  on  "Na- 
tural Science  in  a  Literary  Education,"  says: 

"Great  forms  of  thought,  mighty  molds  which  of  neces- 
sity give  shape  to  our  thinking  and  then  to  our  very  imag- 
inings, these  come  to  us  from  the  study  of  things,  not  from 
the  study  of  language.  Literature  itself  must  largely  find 
its  raw  material,  its  great  metaphors  and  similes,  its  vivid 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  103 

pictures  and  mighty  symbols  within  the  domain  of  natural 
science,  and  this  increasingly  as  the  years  go  by. 

' '  The  chemist 's  law  of  definite  and  multiple  proportions ; 
the  laws  of  motion ;  the  phenomena  and  laws  of  light,  heat, 
and  electricity;  the  strata,  the  glaciers,  and  the  process  of 
earth  sculpture  of  the  geologist ;  the  winds,  tides  and  ocean 
currents ;  the  theories  of  animal  evolution ;  the  struggle  for 
existence,  the  survival  of  the  fittest ;  the  mighty  phenomena, 
the  impressive  uniformities,  the  nebular  hypothesis  of  as- 
tronomy— these  are  great  forms  of  thought  as  well  as  facts 
and  theories  of  science.  A  man  who  is  unacquainted  with 
modern  science  cannot  well  understand  the  language  of  edu- 
cated men  and  he  cannot  interpret  sympathetically  and  ade- 
quately the  literature  of  his  own  day. ' ' 

The  study  of  science  develops  and  strengthens  the 
imagination  and  the  feelings.  The  person  who  studies  the 
slow  processes  of  geology  and  undertakes  to  find  out  the  age 
of  the  earth,  or  who  tries  to  grasp  the  distance  to  the  sun  as 
a  measuring  stick  with  which  to  measure  the  distance  to  the 
stars  must  exercise  imagination  in  the  higliest  degree. 

A  noted  critic  said  that  two  men  whose  imaginations  were 
the  most  brilliant  of  any  of  their  day  were  Michael  Faraday 
and  Charles  Darwin. 

Science  studies  appeal  to  a  certain  class  of  minds 
wrhich  are  but  little  attracted  to  other  branches  of  study. 
These  studies  are  the  intellectual  salvation  of  some  who 
otherwise  might  perish  by  the  way. ' ' 

12.  Prof.  Cady  said  that  he  would  not  speak  as  a  musi- 
cian but  as  an  educator.  The  present  tendency  of  education 
is  development  from  within.  The  educational  world  owes 
a  great  debt  to  Pestalozzi  and  to  Froebel,  but  neither  of 
these,  nor  yet  modern  psychology,  gives  us  the  true  basis 


104  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

for  the  development  of  individuality.  This  basis  as  Profes- 
sor Cady  thinks,  is  found  in  ontology,  as  expressed  in  Mrs. 
Eddy's  Science  and  Health. 

Formerly  observation  was  the  watchword  of  education; 
then  apperception  took  its  place.  But  conception,  unfold- 
ing from  within,  is  the  watchword  of  the  newest  education, 
and  this  is  the  highest  of  all.  The  relation  of  this  to  music 
is  that  music  is  idea  and  not  product  of  sense  development. 
Music  is  conceptive  thinking,  and  hence  a  positive  factor  in 
education.  Thus  far  it  has  been  too  often  a  positive  evil, 
in  developing  vanity  on  the  part  of  the  performer  and  envy 
on  the  part  of  the  listener;  in  conveying  the  impression  of 
musical  consciousness  when  none  exists,  and  in  displaying 
bondage  to  the  physical  instead  of  deliverance  from  it. 

The  usual  test  of  determining  whether  a  child  can  dis- 
criminate between  tones  is  no  evidence  of  musical  conscious- 
ness. Music  is  thought  which  must  be  grasped.  The 
musical  idea  has  three  elements;  melody,  rhythm,  and  har- 
mony, each  of  which  must  be  conceived  and  gradually  un- 
folded. Conceptive  development  may  be  expressed  in  two 
words;  analysis  and  synthesis.  Analysis  is  the  individual- 
izing process;  synthesis,  the  unifying  one.  Attention  is 
nothing  more  than  the  developing  of  the  conceptive  process. 

The  simplest  thing  with  which  to  begin  is  melody.  Until 
simple  melodic  phrases  can  be-  conceived  there  is  no  evidence 
of  musical  consciousness.  The  second  step  is  the  recogni- 
tion of  the  rhythmic  basis  of  melody,  and  the  third  is  the 
development  of  the  harmonic  basis  underlying  the  melodic 
and  rhythmic  expression.  When  this  conceptive  founda- 
tion has  been  laid,  the  forms  of  musical  manifestation,  the 
voice,  or  the  different  kinds  of  musical  instruments  may  be 
considered. 

Thus  music  is  the  expression  of  the  whole  of  life.     Its 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  105 

principles  are  as  fixed  as  those  of  geometry  and  their  devel- 
opment as  logical.  The  danger  lies  in  considering  music  as 
one-sided,  as  the  language  of  emotion  only.  True  music 
cannot  be  the  language  of  discord;  it  must  express  the 
highest  unity  and  harmony. 

Professor  Cady's  methods  are  employed  in  the  University 
Primary  School,  and  frequent  references  have  been  made  to 
them  in  the  School  Notes  and  Plans  as  published  in  the  Uni- 
versity Record.  The  issue  of  February  19  gives  especial  at- 
tention to  the  work  in  music. ' ' 

13.  In  the  preface  to  "The  Essentials  of  Method,"*  the 
author  calls  attention  to  the  importance  of  analogies,  and  to 
the  fact  that  there  are  many  analogical  theories  of  mind. 
Of  these,  two  are  important : 

1.  That  which  regards  the  soul  as  a  germ  containing  by 
involution  that  which  it  is  to  become  by  evolution — a  self- 
active  power. 

2.  That  which  regards  the  mind  at  any  given  stage  of 
its  development  as  the  resultant  of  the  variations  of  its  en- 
vironment. 

These  two  theories  are  regarded  as  but  two  figurative 
expressions  for  the  thought  that  there  is  a  method  in  the 
child,  and  a  method  in  the  subject  of  study.  The  preface 
adds  that  the  work  deals  with  the  adjustment  of  the  sub- 
ject-matter and  the  mind.  "It  seeks  to  find  the  essential 
forms  of  methods  of  instruction,  as  determined  by  the  gen- 
eral law  of  development  in  the  mind  of  the  child. ' ' 

When  the  author  speaks  of  a  method  in  the  child  and  a 
method  in  the  subject  of  study,  it  would  appear  that  he 
uses  the  term  method  in  the  first  case  to  signify  a  men- 
tal activity,  that  is,  the  psychical  change  occurring  in 
the  child  as  he  develops  toward  the  perfection  of  his  being 


*  ''The  Essentials  of  Method"  (1897)  by  Charles  De  Garmo.     D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 


106  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

under  the  stimulus  of  the  subject;  and  that  he  uses  the 
term  method  in  the  second  case,  to  signify  the  external 
although  invisible  activity  by  which  each  fact  or  indi- 
vidual of  the  subject  of  study  is  produced.  For  example, 
if  the  subject  of  study  is  plants,  then  it  would  be  thought 
that  if  the  author  speaks  of  a  method  in  the  subject  of 
study  he  would  mean  the  mode  of  activity  by  which  plant 
energy  produces  the  individuals  of  the  plant  world.  Such, 
however,  does  not  seem  to  be  his  meaning  in  examining  the 
work  on  pages  91-93.  There,  by  method  in  the  learner,  he 
refers  to  the  act  of  observation,  abstraction,  induction  and 
deduction,  etc.  This  is  in  accord  with  the  second  view  of 
method.  In  referring  to  "methods  with  regard  to  the 
thing  to  be  learned,"  (page  92),  no  reference  seems  to  be 
made  to  the  activity  by  which  each  fact  or  individual  in 
the  subject  is  produced.  The  thought  seems  to  be  that  each 
subject  or  object  is  a  whole  consisting  of  parts.  This  being 
the  case,  the  child's  mind  may  be  apprehending  the  whole, 
and  proceed  from  this  to  a  consideration  of  the  parts,  giv- 
ing an  analytic  procedure ;  or  it  may  begin  with  the  parts 
and  move  toward  the  whole,  giving  the  synthetic  procedure. 
Method  in  this  case  is  also  mental,  and  accords  with  the 
second  view  of  method.  On  page  93,  when  speaking  of 
"method  with  regard  to  the  teacher"  reference  is  made 
to  the  ' '  monological ' '  and  to  the  '  *  dialogical. ' '  In  the  same 
paragraph  the  author  speaks  of  the  "catechetical,  Socratic, 
developing  method."  It  seems  evident  from  these  expres- 
sions that  he  is  speaking  of  external  activities,  such  as  ques- 
tions, illustrations,  example,  etc.,  as  method.  This  is  ac- 
cording to  the  first  view. 

The  book  consists  of  three  parts : 

I.  Psychological  basis. 

II.  Necessary  stages  of  rational  method. 

III.  Practical  illustrations. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  107 

Under  the  psychological  basis  the  work  presents : 

1.  The  individual  notion. 

2.  The  general  notion. 

3.  Apperception,  or  the  assimilation  of  knowledge. 
Under  the  necessary  stages  of  rational  method,  three  are 

indicated : 

1.  Apperception  of  individual  notions. 

2.  Transition  from  individual  to  general  notions. 

3.  The  return  of  the  general  to  individual  notions. 
Under  practical  illustrations  considerations  are  presented 

concerning  language,  arithmetic,  reading,  geography  and 
history. 

The  use  of  the  singular  form  of  the  word  method  in  the 
title  of  the  book,  indicates  that  generally  the  author  implies 
the  term  to  signify  a  definite  mode  of  mental  activity,  and 
not  the  various  devices  used  to  stimulate  it.  The  work  is 
not,  however,  free  from  the  latter  use.  In  certain  passages 
the  term  is  used  in  a  way  to  imply  that  the  author  holds  to 
the  first  view  of  method.  In  other  passages  the  inference 
would  be  that  he  holds  to  the  second  view.  In  still  others 
it  would  appear  that  he  approaches  in  his  conception  the 
third  view.  The  following  are  passages  indicating  the  first 
view  of  method: 

1.  "It  seeks  to  find  the  essential  forms  of  methods  of 
instruction,  as  determined  by  the  law  of  development  in  the 
mind  of  the  child."     (Preface,  page  5.) 

2.  "Physiological   Psychology   studies  mental   acts  by 
observing  and  measuring  their  mechanical  occasion  and  re- 
sults, according  to  the  methods  of  Physical  Science."   (Page 
25.) 

3.  "When  we  recognize  the  process  of  apperception, 
however,  then  the  external  standpoint  gives  place  to  the 
internal  one,  and  the  teacher  regulates  the  amount  and 
method  of  his  instruction  by  the  psychical  needs  of  the 


108  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

child,  which  are  determined  largely  by  his  knowledge  and 
his  interests. ' '  (Page  27. ) 

4.  "It  is  net  uncommon  for  us  to  strive  to  create  inter- 
est in  study  by  appealing  to  emulation,  to  ambition,  to  love 
of  praise,  approval  of  others,  duty,  etc.,  or  by  indulging  in 
spectacular  display  in  methods.  These,  and  similar  diver- 
sions may  enable  us  to  develop  a  momentary  interest,  etc." 
(Page  31.) 

The  following  may  be  noted  as  indications  of  the  second 
view  of  method: 

1.  "But  if  the  essentials  of  right  methods  are  observed, 
there  may  be  almost  infinite  variety  of  devices  in  teaching 
and   reciting  the  lesson,   without  vitiating  the    results." 
(Page  86.) 

2.  "Deduction  corresponds  most  closely  to  the  stage  of 
application;  or  to  the  return  from  universals  to  new  par- 
ticulars."    (Page  92.) 

3.  "The  method  which  begins  with  the  whole  and  pro- 
ceeds to  the  parts  is  analytical."     (Page  93.) 

The  work  presents,  however,  a  view  of  method  far  more 
important  and  fundamental  than  that  indicated  in  these 
quotations  which  are  here  given  to  signify  the  first  and 
second  views.  While  the  prevailing  view  in  the  work  is  not 
strictly  that  explained  in  the  present  treatise  as  the  third 
view  of  method,  it  maintains  a  close  analogy  to  it,  and  is 
identical  in  the  sense  that  a  true  method  is  a  mental  activity 
returning  in  new  shape  to  the  original  stage. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  method  presented  is  both 
triple  in  form  and  a  return  to  itself,  in  that  it  contains 
these  stages : 

1.  Knowing  the  particular. 

2.  Deriving  the  general  from  particulars. 

3.  Returning  with  the  general  to  the  consideration  of 
new  particulars. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  109 

This  is  a  very  important  and  fundamental  view.  This, 
triple  movement  and  return,  however,  are  found  even  within 
the  first  stage  in  which  the  mind  deals  with  the  individual 
notion.  This  renders  the  view  of  method  presented  in  the 
book  still  more  valuable,  because  it  reveals  more  fully  its 
accord  with  consciousness — consciousness  being  essentially 
subject-object  or — 

1.  A  potential  capacity. 

2.  Existence  in  a  particular  form  or  act. 

3.  A  return  to  the  subject,  in  that  the  qualities  produced 
in  this  special  form  of  activity  abide  in  the  subject  as  a  ten- 
dency, or  as  apperceiving  material  for  new  activities. 

In  noting  the  discussion  on  pages  45-60,  in  connection 
with  the  illustration  on  pages  94-98,  it  will  be  observed  that 
the  movement  of  mind  in  dealing  with  the  individual  ob- 
ject is: 

1.  To  consider  the  object  practically  as  a  whole. 

2.  To  consider  it '  *  in  small  logically  connected  sections. '  * 
(Page  55.) 

The  second  movement  is  called  by  the  author  the  law  of 
1  'Successive  Clearness."  It  is  evident  that  it  is  analytic. 
These  two  stages,  therefore,  resemble  very  closely  the  two 
that  have  heretofore  been  given,  in  the  present  work,  under 
the  third  view  of  method.  Are  the  third  and  the  fourth 
stages  indicated  ?  The  following  seems  to  denote  the  third 
stage  or  the  organization  of  the  distinctions  by  relating  them 
to  the  central  unity.  "On  the  other  hand,  to  fail  to  asso- 
ciate the  parts  of  the  lesson  and  to  bring  them  to  conscious- 
ness as  a  logical  unity,  would  be  to  reveal  the  mind  dis- 
tracted by  the  apprehension  of  a  confused  mass  of  discon- 
nected details.  These  two  steps,  the  absorption  of  individ- 
ual notions,  and  their  apperception,  Herbart  compares  to 
the  process  of  breathing,  calling  them  the  inspiration  and 
expiration  of  the  soul.  Our  maxim,  step  by  step,  has  to  do 


110  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

with  this  process,  but  it  is  incomplete,  for  its  suggests  only 
the  sub-division  without  hinting  at  its  purpose — the  clear 
perception  of  individuals  and  their  proper  synthesis  in  con- 
sciousness. "  (Page  56.) 

As  a  hint  of  the  fourth  stage,  (referred  to  in  this  work  on 
page  26),  the  following  may  be  quoted:  "Next  to  the  for- 
mation of  the  series  in  instruction  comes  the  need  of  fixing 
it  in  the  mind.  This,  as  we  have  seen,  needs  time.  It 
needs  also  a  constant  attention  to  the  matter  in  hand. 
Eepetition  gives  the  time,  and  skill  on  the  part  of  the 
teacher  will  secure  the  attention."  (Page  60.) 

In  this  work,  therefore,  is  found  a  close  approach  to  the 
third  view  of  method. 

14.  In  the  preface  to  "Systematic  Methodology"*  the 
author  indicates: 

1.  That  the  work  is  written  for  those  interested  in  un- 
derstanding the  philosophy  of  teaching. 

2.  That  the  work  is  to  be  a  systematic  treatment  of  the 
problems  of  teaching. 

3.  That  parts  I  and  II  are  adapted  to  those  wishing  to 
master  the  philosophy  of  education,  and  parts  II  and  III  to 
those  desiring  to  study  merely  the  practical  problems  that 
arise  in  presenting  the  different  branches  of  study. 

In  the  introduction  there  are  presented: 

1.  The  idea  that  methods  as  usually  given  are  varied, 
inconsistent,  and  even  contradictory;  that  they  lack  unity 
and  completeness. 

2.  The  author's  view  that  the  art  of  teaching  is  capable 
of  order  and  of  systematic  treatment. 

3.  The  thought  that  there  are  two  important  lines  of  in- 
vestigation necessary  to  make  methods  rational: 

a.     The  study  of  the  human  mind. 

*  "Systematic  Methodology,"  by  Andrew  Thomas  Smith.  Silver,  Burdett  &  Co. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  Ill 

b.     The  study  of  the  nature  of  truth. 

4.  The  thought  that  in  order  to  make  the  discussion 
complete  and  systematic,  three  things  must  be  done: 

a.  Terms  must  be  used  with  consistency. 

b.  Recommendations   must   not   be    given    in    one 
connection  and  violated  in  another. 

c.  Methods   in  the   given   subjects  must   all   obey 
certain  well  defined  fundamental  lines  applicable  to  truth 
in  general. 

5.  The  statement  that  one  aim  of  the  work  is  to  make 
clear  to  the  reader  that  all  school  studies  which  have  to  do 
with  a  body  of  truth  to  be  comprehended  are  capable  of  be- 
ing taught  by  the  same  comprehensive  plan. 

6.  The  claim  that  another  aim  of  the  work  is  to  make 
clear  to  the  learner  that  there  are  many  school  subjects 
which  do  not  consist  of  a  body  of  truth  to  be  comprehended ; 
that  these  are  either  subjects  that  may  be  called  arts,  or 
subjects  expressing  merely  facts  to  be  impressed  upon  the 
memory. 

7.  An  explanation  of  the  terms  " practical  method"  and 
"device." 

8.  The  thought  that  method  is,  in  large  part,  a  derived 
science. 

Under  the  explanation  of  the  first  aim,  the  author  pre- 
sents his  view  of  the  world :  "  In  the  world  of  things  about 
which  we  study,  only  individuals  exist,  while  generaliza- 
tions are  merely  contrivances  of  man  wrought  out  for  his 
convenience  in  mastering  the  truths  concerning  this  world 
of  real,  but  individual  things." 

This  same  view  of  the  world  is  again  presented  under  the 
discussion  of  Principle  on  page  10:  "We  know  nothing  of 
the  essence  of  mind,  as  we  know  nothing  of  the  essence  of 
matter.  Phenomena  alone  are  open  to  our  study.  What 
mind  or  matter  does  we  may  know,  but  not  what  either  is. ' ' 


112  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

Under  the  discussion  of  the  first  aim,  the  author  also  pre- 
sents "the  comprehensive  plan"  according  to  which  sub- 
jects expressing1  truth  may  be  treated.  The  comprehensive 
plan  is,  ' '  Generalizations  of  a  given  order  are  to  be  compre- 
hended only  in  the  light  of  the  appropriate  individuals  em- 
braced within  them/'  This  is  termed  "the  one  compre- 
hensive plan  or  principle  of  learning." 

The  book  consist  of  three  parts:  first,  The  Nature  and 
Development  of  the  Mental  Faculties ;  second,  The  General 
Philosophy  of  Method;  third,  Applied  Methodology. 

Under  the  first,  all  forms  of  psychological  activity  are 
briefly  considered. 

Under  the  second,  three  main  topics  are'  discussed : 

1. ,  The  notion  or  concept ;  2.  Distinctions  of  method 
based  upon  the  truths  of  the  concept;  3.  The  actual  real- 
ties of  school  subjects. 

Under  the  second,  four  subordinate  topics  are  treated : 

1.  The  four  methods. 

2.  The  order  of  use  of  the  contrasted  methods. 

3.  Special  process  in  teaching  facts  and  art. 

4.  The  concrete  and  the  abstract  in  teaching. 

Under  the  third,  attention  is  given  to  method  in  the 
various  branches. 

In  considering  whether  the  work  is  based  fundamentally 
upon  the  first,  second,  or  third  view  of  method,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  examine  certain  expressions. 

On  page  5  the  author  says,  "Works  on  teaching  abound 
in  which  are  to  be  found  many  and  varied  recommendations 
in  method,  most  of  which  do  not  rise  above  the  dignity  of 
reasonable  devices."  This  seems  to  distinguish  method 
from  devices. 

On  page  11  the  following  definition  of  method  is  given : 
"A  method  in  pedagogy  is  a  rational  plan  or  series  of  steps 
for  effecting  results  in  teaching." 


THE  PROBLEM  OP  METHOD.  113 

The  first  portion  of  this  statement  seems  to  regard  method 
as  an  idea  in  the  mind  of  the  teacher ;  that  is  it  is  a  rational 
plan  held  in  consciousness.  The  second  portion  of  the 
statement  looks  upon  it  as  a  series-  of  steps.  It  seems  that 
these  steps  are  the  outward  acts  of  the  teacher,  because 
they  are  spoken  of  as  intended  to  bring  a'bout  results  in 
teaching. 

In  the  same  connection  this  is  said:  ''Method  is  pro- 
cedure according  to  principles. ' '  This  would  seem  to  indi- 
cate that  method  is  the  outward  activities  of  the  teacher 
governed  by  a  certain  thought  or  principle. 

It  is  also  said  upon  the  same  page :  ' '  A  method  of  teach- 
ing, then,  is  procedure  in  teaching  according  to  the  princi- 
ples of  teaching."  This  implies  that  the  method  consists 
of  the  outward  activities  of  the  teacher. 

On  page  12  it  is  said:  "Method  is  a  way  of  reaching  a 
given  end  by  a  series  of  acts  which  tend  to  secure  it,  but 
device  refers  rather  to  a  single  action."  This  seems  to 
identify  device  and  method,  in  that  it  regards  each  as  an  act, 
and  the  assumption  is  that  this  act  is  the  outward  act  of  the 
teacher,  since  the  author  looks  upon  device  as  merely  a 
single  act,  while  method  is  a  series  of  acts. 

The  use  of  the  terms,  "analytic  method/'  " synthetic 
method,"  "inductive  method"  and  "deductive  method," 
on  pages  111  and  113,  implies,  unless  closely  scrutinized, 
that  method  is  the  psychological  movement  of  the  child  in 
studying.  A  more  careful  examination  of  these  expres- 
sions, however,  seems  to  indicate  that  the  author  means,  un- 
der the  analytic  method,  the  explanations,  questions,  sug- 
gestions, etc.,  of  the  teacher  adapted  to  lead  the  child  to  an- 
alyze an  object  into  its  parts  or  elements.  The  same  infer- 
ence may  be  drawn  as  to  the  other  methods  mentioned. 

On  page  125  the  author  says:  "Learning  should  begin 
with  individuals  and  should  return  to  individuals."  This 


114  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

outwardly  indicates  that  the  third  view  of  method  is  held. 

On  page  127  there  is  an  indication  that  the  child  is  (1)  to 
comprehend  an  object  as  a  whole,  analyze  it  into  its  parts, 
comprehend  the  whole  as  made  up  of  these  parts;  (2)  to 
conceive  from  several  such  wholes  a  general  belonging  to 
these  similar  objects;  (3)  to  discover  this  general  in  new 
objects.  This  also  hints  the  third  view  of  method. 

On  pages  286-291,  in  considering  the  subject  of  litera- 
ture, there  is  also  some  indication  of  the  third  view  of 
method.  The  first  movement  of  consciousness  is  indicated 
on  page  286,  the  second  on  page  288,  and  the  third  on  page 
291. 

On  page  309  the  following  statement  occurs:  "We  know 
a  man,  a  horse,  a  house  or  a  piano  first  as  entire  things ;  we 
are  able  to  recognize  these  things  and  give  their  names; 
later,  through  our  desire  to  know  them  more  fully,  we  are 
forced  to  the  necessity  of  mentally  analyzing  them.  Then, 
after  we  have  studied  the  details  of  their  parts,  we  know 
the  things  in  their  entirety  more  intimately."  This  gives 
an  indistinct  indication  of  the  third  view  of  method. 

On  page  318  the  author  says:  "The  method  in  this,  as 
in  all  natural  sciences,  should  be  inductive — leading  up 
from  the  individual  instances  presented  to  the  appropriate 
generalizations,  and  then  returning  to  apply  these  truths 
in  newly  discovered  instances. ' '  This  likewise  suggests  the 
fundamental  movement  of  consciousness. 

Under  all  these  uses,  however,  there  is  no  clear  indica- 
tion that  the  author  regards  method  as  the  fundamental 
movement  of  consciousness  in  the  child.  There  is  rather 
the  indication  that  he  considers  method  to  be  the  activities 
of  the  teacher  controlled  by  the  notion  that  the  mind  may 
deal  with  particular  objects  in  two  ways,  and  with  generali- 
zations in  two  ways.  Fundamentally,  then,  the  work  is  in 
harmony  with  the  first  view  of  method.  The  principle  that 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  115 

prevents  the  work  from  being  truly  organic  or  systematic 
is  the  one  mentioned  on  page  8.  "In  the  world  of  things 
about  which  we  study,  only  individuals  exist,  while  gener- 
alizations are  merely  contrivances  of  man  wrought  out  for 
his  convenience  in  mastering  the  truths  concerning  this 
world  of  real  but  individual  things. ' '  This  idea  would  in- 
dicate that  a  greater  degree  of  truth  is  reached  in  sense- 
perception  than  in  memory,  a  greater  degree  in  memory 
than  in  imagination,  a  greater  degree  in  imagination  than 
in  conception,  etc.  This  view  of  the  world  is  essentially 
divisive.  According  to  such  a  view,  no  work  can  possess  a 
fundamental  unity.  The  reason  is  that,  according  to  such 
a  view,  the  individual  is  the  only  truth. 

This  view  of  the  world  is  again  reflected  in  the  idea  of 
the  concept  presented  on  page  98.  This  indicates  that  the 
concept  is  the  notion  of  an  individual  object  or  of  the  class. 
It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  class  is  regarded  as  merely  an 
aggregation  of  individual  objects,  and  is  usually,  there- 
fore, a  space-occupying  thing.  The  notion  which  applies  to 
a  class  is  regarded  as  concerned  with  the  set  of  common  at- 
tributes. This  does  not  harmonize  with  the  modern  view 
of  the  concept,  namely,  that  it  signifies  the  creative  ac- 
tivity producing  the  various  objects  of  the  class.  This 
view  of  the  world  again  reveals  itself  in  the  division  of 
method  into  four  kinds,  the  analytic,  the  synthetic,  the  in- 
ductive and  the  deductive.  If  the  world  is  a  true  unity  in- 
stead of  being  made  up,  as  the  author  suggests  on  page  8, 
of  particulars,  there  is  a  single  method  according  to  which 
every  branch  of  study  should  be  taught.  The  separative 
tendency  of  the  view  of  the  world  given  by  the  author 
on  page  8  also  manifests  itself  in  the  classification  of  sub- 
jects given  on  page  131.  It  is  further  exhibited  in  that  the 
author  presents  the  different  psychological  facts  much  as 
they  would  be  given  in  a  work  on  psychology  instead  of 


11(5  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

limiting  the  psychological  treatment  strictly  to  those  ele- 
ments that  reflect  the  notion  of  method  given  in  the  book. 

The  separative  tendency  of  his  view  of  the  world  also  ex- 
hibits itself  in  the  fact  that  the  special  methods  given  under 
the  different  branches  of  study  do  not  definitely  reveal  the 
idea  of  method  presented  on  pages  111  to  114.  The  view 
that,  * '  In  the  world  about  which  we  study  only  individuals 
exist,  while  generalizations  are  merely  contrivances  of  man 
wrought  out  for  his  convenience  in  mastering  the  truths 
concerning  this  world  of  real  but  individual  things,"  is  the 
ground  for  the  various  ways  in  which  the  author  uses  the 
term  methods. 

After  having  explained  the  four  distinct  methods  as  given 
on  pages  111  to  114,  would  the  author  be  entitled  to  use  the 
term  method  in  any  other  sense  than  in  one  of  the  four 
given?  Would  there  not  be,  indeed,  a  tendency  on  the 
part  of  every  reader  to  seek  some  one  fundamental  sense  to 
which  these  four  could  be  reduced  ?  Let  the  following  uses 
of  the  term  be  noticed  in  order  to  decide  whether  they  are 
already  included  in  one  or  more  of  the  four  mentioned  on 
pages  111  to  114. 

On  page  8  the  author  speaks  of  "the  varieties  of  so-called 
'methods'  of  learning  as  simply  'variations  of  one  compre- 
hensive plan.'  :  This  identifies  the  term  "method"  with 
the  term  "comprehensive  plan." 

On  page  10  the  author  speaks  of  a  "principle"  as  the 
' '  basis  of  method. ' '  This  distinguishes  method  from  prin- 
ciple. 

On  page  133  the  following  occurs:  "Our  method  of  teach- 
ing, then,  should  be  one  of  imitation  and  practice."  What 
is  the  relation  of  this  method  to  the  four  mentioned  on 
pages  111  to  114?  Apply  the  same  question  to  the  use  of 
the  word  "method"  in  the  following  quotations: 

Page  134,  "It  seems  to  receive  attention  only  when  the 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  117 

study  is  one  that  requires  in  its  recitation  some  special 
method  of  delivery,  as  in  declamation  or  singing. ' ' 

Page  141,  "The  only  difference  between  childhood  and 
manhood  in  regard  to  these  methods  is  the  difference  in  the 
predominant  element.  Both  methods  should  be  employed 
always."  The  author  here  refers  to  the  concrete  and  the 
abstract  methods. 

Page  146,  "The  product  secured  through  such  direct 
study  should  be  compared  with  the  products  secured  by  the 
other  pupils  through  a  similar  method  of  study." 

Page  167j  "This  method  of  procedure  robs  the  drawing 
class  of  its  mechanical  drudgery." 

Page  249,  "It  is  not  the  ancient,  stereotyped  method  of 
parsing. ' ' 

Page  257,  "The  child's  method  of  study";  "a  method  of 
testing";  "the  written  method  of  recitation." 

Page  263,  "History  is  a  methodical  record  of  the  impor- 
tant events  which  concern  a  community  of  men." 

Page  331,  "To  this  end  we  should  adopt  what  is  called 
the  scientific  method  of  counting  rather  than  the  given 
method." 

On  account  of  the  view  that  the  world  consist  of  real  but 
individual  things  and  that  there  are  no  generals  in  reality, 
the  distinction  is  made  into  subjects  expressing  truth,  those 
expressing  facts  and  those  that  are  merely  form.  This 
leads  to  a  variety  of  method.  In  consequence,  the  book 
does  not  present  one  fundamental  method.  The  tendency 
of  the  book  is  to  lead  the  student  to  regard  method  as  the 
outward  activity  of  the  teacher  controlled  by  the  principles 
belonging  to  the  subject  of  study. 

15.  In  "Scientific  Method  in  Education"*  the  "scien- 
tific method"  is  held  to  be  an  attitude  of  the  mind.  Thus 


*  "Scientific  Method  in  Education,"  by  Ella  Flagg  Young,  in  Volume  III.  of  the 
Decennial  Publication,  published  by  the  University  of  Chicago  Press. 


118  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

on  page  144  it  is  defined  as  follows:  " Scientific  method  is 
the  method,  the  attitude  of  mind  that  makes  a  search  for 
the  principle  under  which  facts  and  observations  may  be 
experienced  in  their  relations  and  made  significant. ' '  This 
is  seen  to  refer  to  the  psychological  activities  of  the  learner. 
It  does  not,  however,  indicate  a  process  of  the  mind  as  given 
by  Mr.  Cramer  in  the  "Method  of  Darwin,"  page  30. 

Mr.  Cramer  gives  the  "scientific  method"  as  "observa- 
tion, induction,  deduction  and  verification. ' '  In  both  cases, 
however,  the  view  of  method  is  that  which  has  been  termed 
the  second  view  in  that  it  relates  to  the  psychological  activ- 
ity of  the  learner.  Often  in  the  discussion  the  first  view  of 
method  appears.  The  following  are  examples:  "Educa- 
tional method  to  be  of  worth  should  be  scientific  method 
applied  to  the  art  of  teaching."  (Page  147.)  "The  re- 
turn to  old  methods  of  instruction  and  school  management, 
the  repudiation  of  the  theories  which  have  issued  from 
investigation  of  biology  and  psychology  have  at  once  indi- 
cated that  the  theories  have  been  found  wanting  because  of 
the  readiness  with  which  they  were  constructed  from  the 
few  facts. ' '  ( Page  152. )  '  *  The  application  of  the  method 
of  science  to  research  in  the  social  heritage  of  the  child  of 
to-day."  (Page  154.)  "Many  individual  teachers  in  the 
schools  of  this  country  are  in  intelligent  sympathy  with  the 
aims  and  ways  of  scientific  method  as  applied  to  educa- 
tion." (Page  155.) 

The  second  view  of  method  is,  however,  more  prominent 
in  the  article.  The  definition  of  the  scientific  method  given 
above  indicates  the  second  view.  The  following  are  also 
examples  of  that  view: 

"The  method  of  the  teacher  is  simply  an  attitude  of 
the  mind  like  that  of  the  scientist. — Page  147.  "To  teach 
children  necessitates  a  knowledge  of  the  mind,  the  law  of 
mental  activity. "—Page  148.  "The  first  element,  the 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  119 

children,  necessitates  a  readiness  on  the  part  of  the  teacher 
in  interpreting  the  contents  of  mind,  clear  vision  as  to 
their  method,  and  a  sympathetic  understanding  of  general 
conditions  which  are  indicated  not  only  by  language  ex- 
pression but  also  by  bodily  expression." — Page  150. 
"  There  should  be  an  acquaintance  with  this  which  has 
been  obtained  by  the  psychologic  method;  that  is,  through 
investigation,  through  observation  of  sequences,  and  also 
by  the  logical  method,  that  is,  through  making  conscious 
standards,  or  norms,  of  the  ends  toward  which  the  psy- 
chological material  points." 

''The  two  aspects  of  a  subject  gained  by  these  two  lines  of 
approach, may  be  called  the  method  of  the  sub- 
ject."—Page  151. 

"A  growing  understanding  of  the  method  by  which  the 
mind  works  and  develops  shows  it  to  be  the  inductive 
method  of  the  scientist." — Page  154. 

The  third  view  appears  but  once  in  the  discussion.  It  is 
then  only  incidental.  It  is  indicated  in  the  following:  "As 
one  does  not  become  a  botanist  or  a  zoologist  by  beginning 
with  the  principles  and  data  of  pure  science,  so  one  cannot 
understand  the  life  process  of  the  soul  if  there  be  no  orig- 
inal observation  of  the  activity  of  the  mind  preceding  the 
study  of  psychology.  As  in  the  other  sciences,  the  purely 
scientific  study  must  be  followed  by  a  return  to  such  ma- 
terial as  formed  the  basis  of  observation  and  experience  in 
the  first  stage,  so  in  psychology  the  applied  science  must  fol- 
low the  pure  science.  In  the  study  of  psychology,  the 
teacher  must  go  through  three  stages :  first,  the  observational 
and  introspective;  second,  the  purely  scientific  and  experi- 
mental; third,  the  applied,  which  is  generally  termed  edu- 
cational psychology.  He  does  not  go  through  the  third,  he 
enters  into  it."— Page  149. 


120  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


METHOD  IN  A  BRANCH  OF  STUDY. 

It  is  assumed  that  one  who  enters  upon  an  investigation 
of  method  in  a  branch  of  study  is  familiar  with  the  facts  of 
the  subject.  Upon  the  basis  of  this  familiarity  he  investi- 
gates the  essential  features  that  give  organization  to  the  sub- 
ject. 

These  essential  features  may  be  held  to  be:  the  central 
idea  of  the  subject,  the  scope  as  determined  by  the  central 
idea,  the  divisions  and  subdivisions  as  determined  by  the 
central  idea,  the  relative  importance  of  the  divisions  and 
subdivisions  as  determined  by  the  central  idea. 

The  act  of  the  pupil  in  learning  a  fact  of  the  subject  so 
characterized  constitutes  the  fifth  element.  This  would  re- 
sult in  special  mental  effects.  These  mental  effects  consti- 
tute the  sixth  aspect  of  the  method  in  a  branch  of  study. 

There  are  certain  rational  means,  to  a  large  extent  pecu- 
liar to  each  subject,  for  stimulating  and  guiding  the  pupil's 
process  of  learning  the  subject.  The  method  in  a  subject, 
therefore,  includes : 

I.  The  Organizing  Principle  of  the  Subject. 

II.  The  Scope  of  Material. 

III.  The  Divisions. 

IV.  The  Relative  Importance  of  the  Divisions. 

V.  The  Mental  Process  in  Learning  a  Fact  of  the  Sub- 
ject. 

VI.  The  Mental  Effects. 

VII.  The  Means  or  Devices. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  121 

Of  these  the  central  or  organizing  principle  is  predomi- 
nant. It  determines  the  scope,  the  divisions  and  subdivi- 
sions and  relative  importance.  It  contributes  in  determin- 
ing the  process  in  the  child's  mind,  the  effect  produced  in 
the  mind  of  the  child,  and  the  devices  to  be  employed.  The 
first  four,  the  organizing  principle,  the  scope,  the  divisions 
and  subdivisions  and  the  relative  importance  relate  to  the 
branch  of  study.  The  fifth  and  sixth  relate  to  the  mind  of 
the  learner.  The  seventh  is  a  stimulus  to  the  mind  of  the 
learner  in  mastering  the  subject-  matter.  It  is  identified 
on  the  one  hand  with  the  knowledge  of  the  pupil,  and  on 
the  other  hand  with  the  nature  of  the  subject-matter. 
These  characteristics  of  method  in  any  branch  of  study  may 
be  illustrated  by  the  subject  of  composition. 

METHOD  IN  COMPOSITION. 

I.  In  composition  the  organizing  principle  is  thought 
which -is  in  a  process  of  development,  expressed  in  language 
which  is  changing  to  adapt  itself  to  the  growing  thought, 
for  the  purpose  of  communication. 

II.  The  scope  of  composition  is  that  range  of  material 
possessing  the   distinguishing  mark   of   composition,   that 
which    differentiates    composition     from     other   language 
studies.     This  material  is  found  to  include  an  attribute 
which  unifies  composition  with  all  other  language  studies 
and  an  attribute  which  unifies  it  with  all  existence.     The 
first  is  the  particular  attribute;  the  second,  the  general; 
and  the  third,  the  universal. 

III.  The  divisions  in  composition  must  be  genetic,  that 
is,  they  must  involve  the  organizing  principle.    The  funda- 
mental division  is  therefore  into  developing  content,  and 
developing  expression.     The  developing  content  then  dif- 
ferentiates into  developing  purpose  and  developing  thought. 
The  form  or  expression  differentiates  into  changing  audible 


122  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

expression  and  changing  visible  expression.     Both   form 
and  content  manifest  many  other  subdivisions. 

IV.  The  relative  importance  of  these  divisions  and  sub- 
divisions is  determined  by  the  degree  to  which  they  mani- 
fest the  organizing  principle  of  the  subject. 

V.  In  composition,  as  is  the  case  in  all  other  branches 
of  study,  the  fifth  essential  element  is  the  psychological  pro- 
cess  in  the  mind  of  the  learner. 

1.  The  process. 

The  first  step  in  the  process  is  the  objectification  of 
a  thought.  The  following  paragraph  may  be  used  in  illus- 
tration : 

'  *  The  word  *  noise '  is  derived  from  a  Latin  word  meaning 
nausea,  through  a  French  word  meaning  quarrel.  The  sig- 
nificance in  each  of  these  derivations  is  that  of  the  negative. 
Noise  is  sound  that  is  not  rhythmical.  The  movement 
of  neural  life  and  also  of  mental  life  is  marked  by  rhythm. 
A  noise  is,  therefore,  in  a  certain  sense,  a  quarrel  with  these 
movements  in  that  it  hinders  the  natural  process.  Even 
rhythmical  sound  becomes  noise  if  it  tends  to  hinder  or  to 
annual  a  rational  process  entitled  to  occur  at  the  time. 
Thus,  sweet  music,  or  a  well-modulated  conversation,  if  in- 
terfering with  a  required  explanation,  conversation,  slum- 
ber, or  rest  of  an  invalid,  is,  under  the  circumstances,  a 
noise.  Any  sound,  then,  which  quarrels  with  a  required 
rational  process  is  a  noise  and  a  damage." 

2.  The  analysis  of  the  process: 

In  the  given  case,  the  first  stage  in  the  process  is 
the  indistinct  projection  of  the  subject  in  language.  There 
is  no  separation  of  content  and  form.  If  the  idea  of  the 
object  is  present,  the  term  itself  seems  to  be  inseparably 
with  it.  If  a  distinction  is  thought  in  the  content,  as  that 
noise  is  a  lack  of  rhythm,  the  thought  does  not  precede  the 
language  appropriate  to  the  thought.  The  language  is 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  123 

there  contemporaneously  with  the  thought.  The  self  may 
be  said  to  think  in  words.  Composition  is  one  of  the  best 
subjects  by  which  to  illustrate  the  doctrine  that  the  first 
stage  of  consciousness  is  a  dim  apprehension  of  a  fused 
unity.  The  above  paragraph  when  first  created  was  a 
fused  union  of  expression  and  meaning. 

The  writer  may  have  thought  spontaneously  of  the  noise 
of  a  whistle,  the  stimulus  being  present.  The  object  thought 
of  and  the  expression  were  known  as  one.  Then  there  arose 
the  conception  of  noise,  but  the  word  was  there  embodying 
the  concept. 

The  thought  of  noise  as  a  damage  was  the  stimulus  for 
the  purpose,  and  in  a  subconscious  process  the  writer 
thought  of  mankind  as  not  knowing  that  noise  is  a  damage ; 
created  the  ideal  of  mankind  as  knowing  it  thus;  desired 
the  ideal  condition  and  then  chose  it.  The  purpose  to  com- 
municate the  thought  of  noise  as  a  damage  seemed  too  gen- 
eral and  the  writer  spontaneously  limited  it  to  the  purpose 
to  explain  the  kinds  of  noises  in  general  that  are  damaging. 
The  purpose  had  now  become  conscious  and  definite. 

This  describes  the  psychological  process  by  which  a  self 
imposes  upon  itself,  at  first  unconsciously,  and  then  con- 
sciously, a  purpose.  It  also  reveals  the  interaction  of  theme 
and  purpose.  Often  a  general  theme  arises  in  conscious- 
ness which  stimulates  a  definite  purpose.  This  more  exact 
purpose  determines  the  limits  of  the  theme.  It  is  this  sec- 
ond theme  which  is  expressed  in  discourse,  not  the  first. 
This  gives  the  purpose  as  arising  first  and  the  theme  second 
in  the  process  of  creating  discourse  when  the  process  arises 
spontaneously. 

If  the  creation  of  the  discourse  is  assigned  from  without 
the  purpose  precedes  the  theme.  Thus  discourse  always 
expresses  a  theme  limited  and  characterized  by  the  purpose. 

The  purpose  and  the  special  theme  having  been  created 


124  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

in  the  case  given,  the  writer  entered  upon  the  stage  of 
thinking  the  subject  as  a  whole,  in  conceiving  it  as  nega- 
tive ;  this  was  succeeded  by  the  stage  of  distinction  in  think- 
ing noise  to  be  negative  when  lacking  rhythm,  and  when 
possessing  it  under  given  circumstances.  To  this  stage  suc- 
ceeded the  one  in  which  all  distinctions,  while  held  in  con- 
sciousness, were  unified  in  the  one  object  characterized  as 
negative.  As  each  distinction  in  thought  arose,  it  appeared 
clothed  in  its  own  language.  Thus,  at  the  conclusion  of 
this  movement,  content  and  form  are  fused.  The  para- 
graph, as  it  exists  now  in  space,  is  a  fused  product,  the  re- 
sult of  the  first  stage  of  consciousness,  although  all  three 
stages  have  appeared  in  the  process  of  creating  this  product. 
That  was  to  be  expected,  however.  If  the  threefold  move- 
ment is  native  to  consciousness  all  three  will  be  reflected  in 
the  first  movement  itself. 

The  person  who  has  written  the  paragraph  now  enters 
upon  the  second  stage,  that  of  distinction.  Giving  atten- 
tion to  the  constructed  paragraph,  he  begins  to  differentiate 
it  into  form  and  content.  In  doing  so  he  enters  upon  the 
second  stage  of  the  process  in  composition.  In  giving  at- 
tention to  the  expression  as  it  is,  the  process  is  abstracting. 
This  expression  is  then  distinguished  from  its  meaning  (dis- 
crimination). Other  similar  expressions  are  reacted.  Each 
of  these  reacted  expressions  is  discriminated  from  the  mean- 
ing and  from  the  original  expression.  This  terminates  the 
second  stage. 

These  different  expressions  are  compared  with  one  an- 
other and  with  the  meaning.  In  this  comparison  the  mind 
enters  upon  the  third  stage,  that  of  unifying.  The  mind 
judges  as  to  the  most  appropriate  expression,  and  decides 
as  to  the  ground  for  considering  this  expression  the  most 
appropriate.  This  concludes  the  process  in  composition. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  125 

In  the  given  paragraphj;he  following  may  be  noted  as 
activities  which  exhibit  the  second  and  third  stages: 

Consideration  of  the  paragraph  as  a  whole.  Has  the 
paragraph  unity?  That  is,  does  every  sentence  bear  upon 
the  subject  noise  f  In  answering  this  question,  sentence 
four  may  be  studied.  At  first  it  may  seem  that  in  this 
sentence  nothing  has  been  given  concerning  noise,  yet  if 
the  sentence  is  taken  in  its  connection  with  the  preceding 
one,  it  is  found  that  rhythm  is  given  as  the  positive  of  noise. 
The  words  of  transition  should  be  near  the  beginning  of 
the  sentence  so  as  to  make  the  connection  between  the 
thoughts  evident  at  once.  Thus  the  second  sentence  may 
be  rearranged  and  combined  with  the  third  so  as  to  read  as 
follows:  "Each  of  these  derivations  signifies  the  negative, 
i.  e.,  noise  is  sound  that  is  not  rhythmical."  In  the  fourth 
sentence  the  transitional  word  is  rhythm,  so  it  may  be 
changed  to  read,  "Rhythm  is  the  characteristic  of  neural 
and  also  of  mental  life. ' ' 

After  these  changes  have  been  made,  the  paragraph  will 
appear  as  follows: 

The  word,  "noise,"  is  derived  from  a  Latin  word  mean- 
ing nausea  through  a  French  word  meaning  quarrel. 

Each  of  these  derivations  signifies  the  negative;  i.  e.^ 
noise  is  sound  that  is  not  rhythmical. 

Rhythm  is  the  characteristic  of  neural  and  also  of  mental 
life.  A  noise  is,  therefore,  in  a  certain  sense,  a  quarrel 
with  these  movements  in  that  it  hinders  the  natural  process. 
Even  rhythmical  sound  becomes  noise  if  it  tends  to  hinder 
or  to  annul  a  rational  process  entitled  to  occur  at  the  time. 

Thus,  sweet  music,  or  a  well-modulated  conversation,  if 
interfering  with  a  required  explanation,  conversation,  slum- 
ber, or  rest  of  an  invalid,  is,  under  the  circumstances,  a 
noise.  Any  sound,  then,  which  quarrels  with  a  required 
rational  process  is  a  noise,  and  hence  a  damage. 


126  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

Consideration  of  the  details. 

Attention  is  given  to  the  fact  that  the  word,  ' '  word, ' '  oc- 
curs three  times  in  the  first  sentence.  This  may  be  modi- 
fied by  using  for  the  second,  the  word,  "term,"  and  for 
the  third,  the  word,  ' '  expression. ' ' 

The  word,  "meaning,"  occurs  twice  in  this  sentence. 
"Signifying"  and  "denoting"  may  be  used  instead. 

In  the  second  sentence  the  expression,  "words,"  may  be 
employed  instead  of  '  *  derivations. ' ' 

After  the  word,  "rhythmical,"  the  following  may  be  in- 
serted: "Noise  may  lack  rhythm  in  being  too  monotonous, 
as  is  often  the  case  with  heathen  music,  or  it  may  manifest 
an  unregulated  and  excessive  variety. ' ' 

The  words,  ' '  neural  action, ' '  and  *  *  mental  process, ' '  may 
be  used  instead  of  "neural"  and  "mental  life." 

After  "mental  process"  insert,  "This  is  peculiarly  true 
of  consciousness,  because  it  is  fundamentally  subject-object, 
that  is,  an  existing  condition,  a  departure  from  it,  and  a 
return  to  it." 

Instead  of  the  expression,  "These  movements  in  that  it 
hinders  the  natural  process,"  the  following  may  be  given: 
"The  alternate  ebb  and  flow  of  nervous  response  and  with 
the  rhythmical  process  in  sense-perception." 

The  expression,  "To  annul  or  even  to  hinder,"  may  be 
used  instead  of  "to  hinder  or  to  annul. * ' 

For  the  expression,  "a  rational  process  entitled  to  oc- 
cur at  the  time,"  may  be  substituted  "an  activity  higher 
than  the  sensuous  response  to  rhythmical  sound,  or  one  in 
the  interest  of  such  higher  activity. ' ' 

After  the  expression,  "modulated  conversation,"  there 
may  be  inserted  "or  any  similar  rhythmical  activity." 

In  the  last  sentence  after  the  word,  "and,"  the  term, 
"hence,"  may  be  inserted. 

As  finally  modified,  the  paragraph  will  appear  as  follows : 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  127 

'  *  The  word,  '  noise, '  is  derived  from  a  Latin  term  signify- 
ing nausea,  through  a  French  expression  denoting  quarrel. 
Each  of  these  words  signifies  the  negative,  i.  e.,  noise  is 
sound  that  is  not  rhythmical.  Noise  may  lack  rhythm  in 
being  too  monotonous,  as  is  often  the  case  with  heathen 
music,  or  it  may  manifest  an  unregulated  and  excessive 
variety.  Rhythm  is  the  characteristic  of  neural  action  and 
also  of  mental  process.  This  is  peculiarly  true  of  conscious- 
ness because  .it  is  fundamentally  subject-object,  that  is  an 
existing  condition,  a  departure  from  it,  and  a  return  to  it. 

A  noise  is,  therefore,  in  a  certain  sense,  a  quarrel  with 
the  alternate  ebb  and  flow  of  nervous  response  and  with 
the  rhythmical  process  in  sense-perception.  Even  rhythm- 
ical sound  becomes  noise  if  it  tends  to  annul  or  even  to  hin- 
der an  activity  higher  than  the  sensuous  response  to  rhythm- 
ical sound,  or  one  in  the  interest  of  such  higher  activity. 

Thus,  sweet  music,  or  a  well-modulated  conversation,  or 
any  similar  rhythmical  activity,  if  interfering  with  a  re- 
quired explanation,  conversation,  slumber,  or  rest  of  an  in- 
valid, is,  under  the  circumstances,  a  noise. 

Any  sound,  then,  which  quarrels  with  a  required  rational 
process  is  a  noise,  and  hence  a  damage. ' ' 

The  process  of  producing  this  series  of  paragraphs  in- 
volved abstraction  (noticing  a  given  expression)  ;  abstrac- 
tion (separating  this  expression  from  its  meaning)  ;  dis- 
crimination (holding  the  expression  and  meaning  apart 
in  the  one  act  of  consciousness)  ;  memorization  (reacting  or 
creating  another  or  other  expressions  for  the  same  mean- 
ing) ;  discrimination  (holding  each  of  the  new  expressions 
apart  from  the  meaning  and  from  the  other  expressions). 
This  practically  concludes  the  second  or  separative  stage. 

The  mind  then  enters  upon  the  third  stage.  This  in- 
volves comparison,  (the  act  of  considering  the  expressions 
as  to  their  relative  fitness  to  communicate  the  meaning)  ; 


128  THE  PROEU&M  OF 

judging,  (the  net  of  deciding  upon  the  most  appropriate 
expression} ;  deductive  reasoning,  (the  act  of  becoming  con- 
scious of  the  ground  or  general  principle  for  the  judg- 
ment). 

Farther  modification  of  the  paragraph,  even  in  a  single 
respect,  would  also  involve  both  the  second  and  third  stages 
of  the  language  process. 

The  entire  process  is — (first  stage)  consciousness  of  a 
general  theme;  limitation  of  a  general  theme;  construction 
of  a  purpose  to  communicate  (consciousness  of  a  limit  in 
those  to  be  addressed,  idealization  of  condition  in  which 
the  limit  is  removed,  desire  for  that  condition,  choice  of 
the  desired  condition;)  consciousness  of  the  theme  as 
adapted  to  the  purpose;  apprehension  of  the  theme  as  an 
indistinct  whole:  abstraction,  or  the  analysis  of  the  theme 
into  its  elements  regarding  each  one  as  distinct :  judgment 
that  a  siren  element  is  the  central  or  characteristic  element; 
conception  or  the  knowledge  of  this  central  element  as 
manifesting  itself  in  Tarring  degrees  in  each  of  the  other 
dements,  (In  all  this  process  the  thinking  was  in  lan- 
guage so  that,  as  the  thought  was  produced,  the  corre- 
sponding language  was  created.  The  consequence  is  that 
the  thought  exists  expressed  and  has  become  an  object  for 
the  mind's  activity  in  the  second  and  third  stages  of  the 
language  act,  which  stages  appear  as  follows) :  abstrac- 
tion of  some  element  of  expression;  abstraction  of  this 
element  from  its  meaning:  discrimination  of  this  mean- 
in*:  and  expression:  remembering  the  construction  of  simi- 
lar expressions;  discriminating  each  of  these  from  the 
meaning  and  from  each  other;  (end  of  the  second  or  sepa- 
rative stage);  comparing  the  expressions  as  to  their  fit- 
ness to  express  the  meaning;  judging  the  expression  most 
appropriate  to  the  meaning;  reasoning  deductively  as  to 
the  ground  for  the  judgment;  (the  end  of  the  third  stage.) 


iJ'r 


180  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

A  refinement  of  taste  in  the  use  of  words. 

The  rendering  of  iteration  purposive. 

The  rendering  of  slang  useless. 

Satisfaction  on  account  of  the  best  field  for  objectifying. 

The  correspondence  of  meaning  (purpose  and  thought) 
and  expression. 

The  habit  of  self-examination  as  a  test  in  the  use  of 
words. 

Satisfaction  in  the  knowledge  of  the  thought  of  the  race 
as  expressed  in  words. 

VII.  The  devices  in  a  branch  of  study  are  general  and 
special.  The  general  device  or  means  is  the  organized  course 
of  study.  This  general  device  in  composition  may  be  given 
as  follows : 

THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY  IN  COMPOSITION. 
STAGES  IN  THE  PRIMARY  GRADES. 

The  First  Stage. 
First  and  Second  Grades. 

In  the  first  stage  of  composition,  conversation  is  promi- 
nent. The  effort  is  to  have  the  child  acquire  the  correct 
use  of  language  without  giving  attention  to  its  structure  or 
to  the  principles  underlying  the  structure.  The  result  is 
that  the  child  is  intent  upon  communicating  only,  and 
meaning  and  form  are  practically  fused.  During  this  stage 
there  should  be  a  strong  eifort  to  awaken  the  sense  of  the 
value  of  power  in  conversation,  and  the  sense  of  the  im- 
portance of  the  English  language.  The  conversation  is  at 
times  to  be  ordered,  in  that  the  teacher  selects  the  objects, 
and  decides  upon  the  successive  topics. 

This  is  for  the  purpose  of  making  the  child  familiar  with 
thoughtful,  regulated  conversation  manifesting  law.  At 


THE  PROBLEM  OP  METHOD.  131 

other  times  the  conversation  is  to  be  more  fully  under 
the  choice  of  the  child,  in  that  he  will  select  the  object  and 
determine  the  successive  topics.  This  will  be  favorable  to 
his  spontaneity.  In  bringing  about  conversation  upon  any 
subject,  the  pupil  will  be  led  to  objectify  freely  his  thought 
in  language.  The  teacher  will  then  aid  him  in  changing 
the  meagre,  or  profuse,  or  otherwise  inartistic  forms  into 
clear,  concise  and  refined  expression.  Much  conversation 
centers  in  the  systematic  construction  of  a  series  of  sen- 
tences expressing  the  successive  phases  of  an  activity  in 
nature,  or  in  the  life  of  man,  viewed  as  returning  to  its  be- 
ginning phase.  Conversation  also  arises  in  the  form  of 
the  free  reproduction  of  stories  read  or  told  by  the  teacher. 
The  conversational  aspect  of  the  work  may  be  supplemented 
by  its  reproduction  in  script  or  print  upon  the  board,  by 
the  expression  in  script  or  print  of  sentences  slowly 
constructed  concerning  an  inanimate  object,  plant  or  ani- 
mal being  studied,  and  by  the  combination  of  these  sen- 
tences, and  their  formation  into  paragraphs.  Conversation, 
and  also  all  the  more  definite  forms  of  work  mentioned  as 
belonging  to  this  first  stage,  may  be  both  strengthened  and 
refined  by  the  consideration  of  songs,  poems  and  artistic 
prose. 

Five  lines  of  work  are  thus  implied : 

Ordered  conversation  on  objects  selected  by  the 
teacher. 

Conversation  on  objects  chosen  by  the  child. 

The  learning  of  selections  of  a  high  literary  value. 

Reading  to  the  children  by  the  teacher  for  the  refin- 
ing effect  of  the  language  and  thought  upon  the  pupil's 
power  of  conversation,  and  for  the  purpose  of  having  the 
selections  read  and  reproduced  substantially. 

The  construction  of  a  series  of  sentences  expressing 
in  ordered  sequence  the  elements  in  acts  of  nature  and  in 


132  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

the  institutions  of  society.     (Astronomy,  geometry;  an  act 
in  the  home ;  an  act  in  the  school,  etc. ) 

The  ordered  conservations  may  be  upon  natural  objects, 
upon  manufactured  objects,  upon  productions  in  art,  upon 
the  various  activities  of  instutional  life,  etc. 

Among  the  objects  constituting  a  basis  for  these  ordered 
conversations  may  be  noted  the  following : 
Geographical. 

September,  Equal  days  and  nights,  direction, 
the  direction  of  the  sun  at  sunset. 

October,  Frosts,  dew,  the  formation  of  dew 
on  cold  surfaces. 

November,  The  winds,  their  direction,  force 
and  temperature  (the  thermometer). 

December,  The  short  days  and  long  nights,  the 
length  of  the  sun 's  shadow  at  noon. 

January,  Snow  flakes,  the  covering  for  plants. 

February,  Freezing  and  thawing,  the  crumbling 
of  clods,  rocks,  etc. 

March,  Clouds  and  their  forms  and  names, 
action  of  frost,  rain,  etc.,  on  the  soil. 

April,  Rain  and  its  measurements,  illustrations 
of  evaporation. 

May,  examination  of  a  brook,  its  action  in  carry- 
ing and  depositing  soil. 

June,  Length  of  days,  position  of  the  sun  in 
early  morning,  at  noon  and  at  sunset. 

Examination  during  the  year  of  sand,  pebbles,  boulders, 
gravel,  shale,  limestone,  sandstone,  etc. 
Biological. 
Plants. 

September,  Aster,  golden  rod,  mustard,  gen- 
tian, touch-me-not,  velvet  leaf,  the  various  kinds  of  mal- 
low, corn  flower,  dodder,  beech  drop. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 


133 


October,  The  flowering  plants  remaining  are  the 
specimens  of  September.  During  October  the  conversa- 
tions could  be  based  upon  the  material  of  seed  distribution. 
Among  these  may  be  noted  the  sandbur,  cocklebur,  bur- 
dock, milkweed  pods,  seeds  of  dandelion,  seeds  of  maple, 
oak,  beech,  gum,  etc.  During  November,  December,  Jan- 
uary, February  and  March,  the  conversation  could  be  based 
upon  non-flowering  plants.  Among  these  are  the  common 
puffball,  earth  star,  the  various  toadstools  and  mushrooms, 
lichens  (reindeer  and  others),  common  bread  mould,  shelf 
fungus,  mosses  (pigeon  wheat  preferred),  ferns,  Indian 
compass  plant,  and  some  algae. 

April,  Spring  beauty,  wind  flower,  hepatica, 
blood  root. 

May,  Buttercup,  marsh  marigold  (see  Songs  of 
Seven),  trillium,  Jack-in-the-pulpit  (see  poem,  Indiana 
Third  Reader,  page  191). 

June,  Dandelion,  the  various  mustards,  clovers, 
spiderworts,  iris,  wild  geranium,  water  leaf,  etc. 
Animals. 

September,  Grasshoppers,  beetles. 

October,  Clams,  Oysters. 

November,  Butterflies,  moths.  (See  book  on 
Butterflies,  pub.  by  Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.) 

December,  Crayfish,  lobster. 

January,  Fishes — yellow  perch,  Jack  salmon. 

February,  The  frog. 

March,  The  woodpecker,  crow,  blackbird,  jays. 

April,  Redbird,  sparrow,  marsh  robin. 

May,  Wren,  thrushes. 

June,  Hawks,  owls. 
Manufactured  objects. 

These  are  so  numerous  and  so  common  that  no 
selections  need  be  indicated. 


134  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

Art. 

Architecture. 

The  dome,  the  Greek  column,  the  Roman  arch, 
the  Gothic  window,  the  spire. 
Sculpture. 

A  selection  (probably  in  picture  form)  of  an 
example  from  Oriental,  Greek,  Roman,  Mediaeval  and  Mod- 
ern Sculpture. 

Painting. 

A  selection  from  Oriental,  Greek,  Roman,  Me- 
diaeval and  Modern  Painting. 

Activities  in  institutional  life. 

These  are  so  numerous  and  so  accessible  that 
no  example  need  be  given. 

Selection  to  be  read  to  children. 

{Portions  of  these  selections  may  be  commit- 
ted to  memory  by  the  children  after  the  thought  has  been 
carefully  worked  out.) 

"In  Time's  Swing,"  Fourth  Reader,  McGuffey's,  page 
77;  "The  Lapse  of  Time,"  Bryant's  Poems  (household 
edition),  page  75;  "Freaks  of  the  Frost,"  Fourth  Reader, 
Harper's,  page  46;  "The  Frost  King,"  in  "Rhymes  and 
Jingles,"  by  Mary  Mapes  Dodge,  page  199;  "Snow,"  in 
"Rhymes  and  Jingles,"  by  Mary  Mapes  Dodge,  page  12; 
"Snow  Song,"  Lucy  Larcom's  Poems,  page  123;  "The 
First  Snow  Fall,"  Literary  Selections  (Lowell),  page  320; 
"Evening  Hymn,"  Second  Reader,  McGuffey's,  page  43; 
"Twilight,"  Third  Reader,  Harper's,  page  257;  "The 
New  Moon,"  Second  Reader,  Harper's,  page  161;  "The 
Moon's  Lullaby,"  Third  Reader,  Harper's,  page  39; 
"March,"  Second  Reader,  McGuffey's,  page  139;"  March," 
Lucy  Larcom's  Poems,  page  124;  "April,"  in  "When  the 
Birds  Go  North  Again,"  by  Ella  Higginson,  page  43; 
"The  Rainbow,"  (stanza  at  the  close)  Supplementary  Sec- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  135 

ond  Reader,  Golden  Book  of  Choice  Reading;  "The  Rain- 
bow," Fifth  Reader,  McGuffey's,  page  195;  "The  Sea- 
sons," (the  stanza  on  "Summer"),  Fourth  Reader,  Mc- 
Guffey's, page  237;  "A  Summer  Day,"  School  Reading 
by  Grades,  page  35;  "The  Seasons,"  (stanza  on  "Win- 
ter"), Third  Reader,  McGuffey's,  page  237;  "Winter," 
Lucy  Larcom's  Poems,  page  179;  "The  Seasons"  (stanza 
on  "Spring),  Fourth  Reader,  McGuffey's,  page  237; 
"Spring,"  Third  Reader,  McGuffey's,  page  132;  "The 
Seasons"  (stanza  on  "Autumn"),  Fourth  Reader,  Mc- 
Guffey's, page  237;  "The  Autumn  Is  Old,"  Fourth  Reader, 
Indiana  revision,  page  234.  Other  selections  expressing 
other  aspects  of  life,  both  of  nature  and  man,  may  be 
chosen. 

Pictures. 

Conversations  upon  objects  similar  to  those  indicated  in 
the  foregoing  and  graded  according  to  the  time  of  year  and 
difficulty  of  use,  constitute  the  work  for  the  first  and  second 
years.  The  work  contemplates  a  definite  period  for  com- 
position of  not  less  than  ten  minutes  from  three  to  five  days 
during  the  week. 

The  Second  Stage. 
Third  Grade. 

This  second  stage,  although  also  one  of  conservation,  is 
marked  especially  by  the  fact  that  it  is  a  stage  devoted  to 
the  discovery  of  distinctions.  Throughout,  the  pupil  is 
concerned  with  differences,  and  is  therefore  chiefly  analytic 
in  his  procedure.  During  the  year  the  work  is  to  be  so  or- 
ganized as  to  lead  the  pupil  to  notice  and  to  express  himself 
as  to  the  following  distinctions  in  language : 

The  distinction  of  language  to  express  the  external;  as, 
fence;  the  spiritual;  as,  /  fear  he  is  not  here;  the  symbolic; 
as,  /  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches.  These  distinctions 


130  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

are  to  be  the  more  simple  ones,  and  are  to  be  sought  in  the 
readers  and  in  general  conversation. 

The  distinction  found  in  the  separation  of  a  stanza  or 
paragraph  into  a  series  of  disconnected  sentences.  The 
first  stanza  of  Tennyson's  Bugle  Song  so  separated  will 
read — 

1  ( The  splendor  falls  on  castle  walls. 
The  splendor  falls  on  snowy  summits  old  in  story. 
The  long  light  shakes  across  the  lakes. 
The  wild  cataract  leaps  in  glory." 
The  idea  of  the  sentence. 

The  distinction  of  the  sentence  into  its  kinds. 

The  distinction  of  each  kind  of  sentence  into  its 
two  uses — to  express  some  fact,  and  also  to  express  the 
mental  attitude  or  state  of  the  speaker. 

The  distinction  involved  in  working  out  different 
forms  for  some  one  sentence,  as, 

The  plowman  homeward  plods  his  weary  way. 
The  weary  plowman  plods  his  homeward  way. 
His  homeward  way  the  weary  plowman  plods. 
His  homeward  way  the  plowman  weary  plods. 
The  distinction  of  the  sentence  into  its  elements. 
The  distinction  of  the  sentence  into  its  separate 
words,  especially  the  chief  ones,  as  nouns,  adjectives,  verbs, 
The  distinction  found  among  words,  as- 
Common  noun,  proper  noun. 
The  distinctions  under  each,  as  names  of  places, 
of  animals,  etc. 

The  distinction  of  words  into  main  parts,  prefix 
and  suffix. 

The  distinction  between  the  current  and  the  literal 
meaning  of  words.* 

The    distinctions   in   the   meanings   of   words   as 

*See  "The  Problem  of  Elementary  Composition,"  by  Elizabeth  Spalding,  p.  27. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 


137 


shown  by  readings  from  such  works  as  Oilman's  Short 
Stones  from  the  Dictionary. 

The  distinction  of  words  into  those  that  are  mere 
signs  and  those  that  are  onomatopoetic. 

The  distinction  of  words  into  syllables. 

The  distinction  of  such  words  as  to,  too,  two;  in, 
into ;  is,  was,  were ;  has,  have,  had. 

The  distinction  in  meaning  belonging  to  a  word 
of  one  form,  as  race. 

The  different,  sounds  belonging  to  each  letter. 

The  difference  as  to  the  beginning  of  lines  in 
prose  and  in  poetry. 

The  difference  found  in  the  ending  of  lines  in 
poetry. 

The  different  images  for  a  sentence  separated 
from  its  context,  as,  "It  was  standing  near  the  fence."** 

In  this  work  the  separate  sentence  should  be  placed  be- 
fore the  children  upon  the  blackboard.  Each  child  should 
then  construct  in  his  imagination  an  environment  which,  to 
be  fully  expressed,  would  require  the  given  sentence  along 
with  other  sentences.  The  pupil's  thought  of  this  environ- 
ment should  then  be  expressed  in  the  form  of  a  brief  com- 
position. These  compositions  should  afterward  be  studied 
in  order  to  render  them  both  more  full  in  certain  respects, 
and  more  compact  and  brief  as  a  whole.  At  this  stage  the 
opportunity  arises  to  consider  the  different  images  and  the 
different  meanings  possessed  by  the  word  it  in  the  different 
stories. 

The  distinction  found  in  the  successive  elements 
in  a  full  activity,  as,  an  act  in  society,  an  act  in  geology 
or  geography,  an  act  in  physics. 

**See  "language  for  the  Grades,"  by  Job u  B.  Wisely,  p.  141.     Published  by  At- 
kinson, Mentser  &  Grover,  Chicago. 


138  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

The  different  objects,  actions,  etc.,  mentioned  in 
a  brief  selection. 

The  distinction  of  the  speaker  and  hearer  in  brief 
selections. 

The  distinction  of  letters  into  their  form  and  con- 
tent, and  the  distinction  of  the  elements  of  their  content. 

The  distinction  in  the  process  of  writing  and 
forwarding  a  letter. 

The  distinction  of  the  elements  of  suspense,  sur- 
prise and  suggestion  in  stories. 

The  distinction  of  the  parts  of  a  reading  lesson 
illustrated  by  pictures,  from  the  parts  not  so  illustrated. 

The  distinction  of  the  use  of  pictures  in  descrip- 
tion, from  their  use  in  illustrating  an  element  of  a  story. 

The  collection  of  examples  of  simile  and  of  per- 
sonification in  the  pupils'  ordinary  language. 

The  examination  of  brief  literary  selections  in 
order  to  discover  simple  examples  of  simile  and  of  per- 
sonification. 

Selections  from  these  and  similar  distinctions  should  be 
carefully  adapted  to  the  development  of  the  pupil  and  of 
the  subject. 

Fourth  Grade. 

The  work  in  this  stage  is  essentially  constructive.  Based 
upon  the  many  clear  distinctions  discovered  in  the  pre- 
vious stage  the  pupil  now  enters  upon  synthetic  work.  Of 
course  the  work  in  this  stage  is  not  solely  synthetic.  A 
stage  of  work  in  which  differences  are  discovered  always  in- 
volves unity.  In  like  manner,  a  stage  in  which  unity  is  the 
main  thought  is  necessarily  marked  by  many  distinctions. 
The  different  kinds  of  work  are  substantially  the  following : 

1.  The  study  of  synonyms. 

2.  Readings  on  the  literal  meanings  and  history  of  words 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  139 

from  such  works  as,  Palmer's  Folk-Etymology,  Trench's 
The  Study  of  Words,  etc. 

3.  The  elaboration  of  a  single  sentence  into  a  para- 
graph.* 

The  selection  of  the  sentence,  as,  ''The  stream  was 
very  clear." 

The  enumeration  of  appropriate  details. 
The  construction  of  a  paragraph  based  on  these  de- 
tails. 

By  class  and  teacher  working  together. 
By  the  individual  pupil. 

The  analytic  study  of  paragraphs  to  discover  the 
truth  that  a  paragraph  is  merely  an  elaborated  sentence 
having  a  common  subject  and  diverse  predicates. 

The  reduction  of  paragraphs  to  this  simplest  form. 
Suitable  paragraphs  for  such  reduction  may  be  found  in 
the  works  of  Irving,  Hawthorne,  etc. 

The  analysis  of  paragraphs  to  discover : 
Topic  and  attributes. 

The  law  of  unity  and  its  relation  to  diverse  ob- 
jects, and  to  opposites,  as  war  and  peace. 

The  study  of  successive  paragraphs  to  determine : 
That  the  topic  limits. 
The  form  of  the  beginning  in  each. 
The  mode  of  indicating  quotation. 
The  mode  of  uniting  paragraphs. 

4.  The  construction  into  a  brief  organized  discourse  of 
some  one  of  the  series  of  separate    sentences     indicated 
under  the  work  of  the  previous  stage.     In  this  work  the 
pupils  should  be  led  to  refine  and  to  render  more  accurate 
the  sentence  and  then  to  notice  the  order  of  the  sentences  be- 
longing to  the  series,  and  to  decide  whether  it  is  the  order 
desired.     The  sentences  should  then  be  unified  by  the  use 

*"The  Problem  of  Elementary  Composition,''  by  Elizabeth  Spalding,  pp.  64-75 


140  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

of  and,  for,  because,  etc.  The  different  thoughts  should 
then  be  elaborated,  the  result  being  fuller  expression.  This 
should  be  followed  by  the  organization  into  paragraphs. 

5.  Selection  of  a  particular  object,  as  a  tree,  and  a  study 
of  this  object  resulting  in  a  knowledge  of  the  following  laws 
of  the  form  of  composition  called  Description. 

Formation  of  mental  picture  (Visualization.)* 
Point  of  view.     (Referring  to  place  and  distance  of 
writer  or  speaker  from  the  object  he  is  describing.) 
Manner  of  describing  (mode  of  procedure.) 

Whole  by  means  of  its  attributes. 

Parts  by  means  of  their  attributes. 

Reconsideration  of  the  whole. 
Range  of  senses  appealed  to. 
Action  in  description. 
Ordering  of  attributes. 

Obvious  to  obscure. 

Physical  to  mental. 

Near  to  remote. 
Specific  language. 
Purpose  of  Description. 

6.  The  examination  of  a  brief,  simple  description  of  a 
high  grade  in  order  to  discover  in  its  structure  indications 
of  the  characteristics  under  5. 

7.  The  study  of  some  simple  object  accessible  to  the  chil- 
dren and  possessing  an  interest  for  them. 

This  study  is  to  lead  to  the  preparation  of  a  brief 
description  of  the  object.  The  description  is  then  to  be 
studied  in  order  to  learn  the  purpose  of  the  writer. 

The  purpose  of  studying  the  description  is  to  form 
the  basis  for  deciding  whether  the  pupil  selected  just 
those  attributes  and  parts  needed  to  accomplish  his  purpose ; 


*  "First  Steps  in  English  Composition,"  by  H.  C.  Peterson,  pp.  19-20.     (A.  Flana- 
gan Co.,  Chicago.) 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  141 

whether  they  were  in  the  order  necessary  to  accomplish  the 
purpose,  whether  all  the  attributes  and  parts  needed  to  ac- 
complish the  purpose  were  given  and  whether  there  was  pro- 
portion of  treatment. 

8.  The  construction  of  descriptions  of  objects  when  the 
point  of  view  is  from  a  distance  (a  device  in  harmony  with 
the  first  stage  of  consciousness)  and  when  the  point  of  view 
is  near  (a  device  in  harmony  with  the  second  stage  of  con- 
sciousness. ) 

9.  The  examination  of  already  constructed  discourse  to 
discover  cases  of  onomatopoetic  words. 

10.  The  construction  of  onomatopoetic  paragraphs.* 

11.  The  selection  of  one  or  more  brief  narrations  of  high 
grade,  upon  topics  of  interest  and  value  to  find  the  follow- 
ing main  laws  governing  this  form  of  discourse. 

Essential  characteristics,  change  and  coherence. 

Theme,  purpose  and  plot  of  different  narrations. 

Incidents  leading  up  to  main  incident. 

Setting,  time  and  place. 

Characters. 

Use  the  plot,  as  worked  out,  in  writing  first  a  reproduc- 
tion of  one  of  the  narratives  studied.  After  this,  work  out 
a  plot  of  an  original  story  with  the  whole  class  and  have  the 
pupils  write  the  story.  Later  let  each  child  write  a  plot  of 
an  original  story  and  then  write  his  own  story. 

12.  The  selection  of  a  brief  narration  of  a  high  grade, 
upon  a  topic  of  interest  and  value,  and  the  examination  of 
it  to  discover  the  laws  indicated  under  11. 

13.  The  examination  of  songs  in  order  to  stimulate  and 
to  direct  effort  toward  literary  production. 

14.  The  selection  and  examination  of  letters  written  by 
children  during  the  different  periods  of  English  and  Ameri- 
can History.     The  letters  selected  should  be,  in  so  far  as 

*"The  Problem  of  Elementary  Composition,"  by  Elizabeth  Spalding,  pp.  42-43 


142  THE  PROBLEM  OP  METHOD. 

possible,  representative  of  different  classes.  They  should 
pertain  largely  to  home  life,  and  to  the  relation  of  child  to 
parent;  of  brother  to  sister,  etc.  To  some  extent  they 
should  relate  to  society  and  to  the  church.* 

15.     Letter  Writing.** 

The  letters  in  this  stage  should  relate  to  affairs  of  home 
and  school,  and  to  the  simple  aspects  of  society  for  chil- 
dren. They  should  be  written  to  schoolmates,  friends  in  the 
neighborhood,  friends  in  distant  regions,  parents,  brothers 
and  sisters. 

The  established  forms  of  letters  should  be  made  clear,  and 
the  work  should  enable  the  pupil  to  write  a  brief  letter  in- 
volving any  of  the  relations  above  given,  according  to  the 
accepted  form,  legible,  correct  in  paragraphing,  language, 
punctuation,  etc.,  and  obedient  to  the  laws  of  discourse. 

STAGES  IN  THE  INTERMEDIATE  GRADES. 
The  First  Stage. 

The  first  stage  is  not  one  of  work  in  the  sense  that  the 
teacher  attempts  actively  to  lead  the  children  into  the  com- 
prehension and  use  of  more  developed  forms  of  language. 
It  is  that  comprehension  and  use  of  language  resulting  from 
the  work  of  the  fourth  and  of  the  other  preceding  years. 
The  stage  is  one  of  fused  unity,  although  not  so  fully  so  as 
the  first  stage  in  the  primary  grades.  Knowledge  is  always 
partial.  The  realm  of  the  unknown  is  far  more  extensive 
than  that  of  knowledge.  The  clearly  known  in  comparison 
with  the  unknown  or  the  dimly  known  is  always  slight.  At 
the  conclusion  of  the  work  of  the  four  years  the  pupil 's  com- 

*See  the  "Diary  of  Anna  Greene  Winslow,"  a  Puritan  girl  ten  years  of  age. 
The  diary  contains  a  series  of  letters  written  by  her  while  residing  in  Boston,  to 
her  parents,  then  residing  in  Nova  Scotia. 

**  For  additional  examples  of  letters  and  for  helpful  suggestions  on  the  process 
of  beginning  the  work  in  letter  writing,  see  pp.  4-5  "The  Problem  of  Elementary 
Composition,"  by  Elizabeth  Spalding. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  143 

prehension  and  use  of  language  involves  many  indistinct 
aspects.  The  stage  is  one  of  synthesis,  because  these  aspects 
are  fused  into  a  unity,  and  because  many  distinctions  are 
not  noticed. 

The  Second  Stage. 
Fifth  Grade. 

The  second  stage  deals  with  the  discovery  of  distinctions 
which  are  somewhat  more  advanced  and  difficult  than  those 
considered  in  the  third  grade.  These  distinctions  are  a  de- 
velopment of  the  differences  studied  in  the  third  grade, 
and  an  unfolding  of  the  distinctions  not  knowrn,  or  at  least 
but  dimly  known,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  work  of  the 
fourth  year.  Hence  this  stage  is  analytic.  Among  the 
distinctions  of  the  stage  are  the  following : 

1.  The  distinction  of  words  as  to  their  current  and  their 
literal  meaning.* 

2.  The  distinction  of  words  into  those  that  are  mere 
signs,  as  hat,  on,  sit,  etc.,  and  those  that  are  onomatopoetic, 
as  crash,  buzz,  etc. 

3.  The  difference  in  such  expressions  as  he,  his,  him, 
ivho,  whom,  etc. 

4.  The  difference  in  the  form  of  the  pronoun  after  the 
verb  to  be  and' after  such  verbs  as  to  have,  to  strike. 

5.  The  difference  in  the  forms  of  comparison,  and  their 
relative  value,  as,  more  dark,  darker. 

6.  The  difference  in  significance  of  one  and  two  nega- 
tives, as  (correct  form),  I  know  nothing  of  it;  I  do  not  know 
nothing  of  it  (incorrect  form). 

7.  The  difference  between  an  indefinite  and  a  definite 
subject,  and  the  forms  the  succeeding  pronouns  tend  to  take, 
as  (correct  form),  "If  Henry  should  carry  this  package  to 

*  The  distinction  into  the  current  and  the  literal  meanings  may  be  aided  by 
readings  from  such  works  as  Waites'  Forgotten  Meanings. 


144  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

the  store,  he  would  find,  etc.;  If  anyone  should  carry  this 
.package  to  the  store  they  would,"  etc.  (incorrect  form.) 

8.  The  difference  between  the  single  and  the  double 
direct  object,  and  the  tendency  toward  different  forms  for 
the  objective,  as  (correct  form),  "He  asked  me  to  go;  He 
asked  Mary  and  7  to  go  (incorrect  form). 

9.  In  the  third  grade  symbolic  language  was  distin- 
guished from  language  used  to  express  the  external,  and 
from  language  employed  to  signify  mental  states.     In  this 
stage  further  distinctions  in  symbolic  language  are  to  ap- 
pear.    These  distinctions  will  be  found  under  both  form 
and  content.     Under  form  are  the  figurative  expressions 
belonging  to  single  words,  and  those  found  in  sentences. 

The  figurative  expressions  in  words  are  brought  about  by 
omission.  There  may  be  omission  from  the  first  of  the 
word,  from  within  the  word,  or  from  the  end  of  the  word. 
In  "The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal"  the  word  'gan  is  used  in- 
stead of  began.  This  is  called  aphaeresis.  This  is  also 
shown  in  you'll  for  you  will.  The  second  form  is  syncope. 
This  is  shown  in  the  word  o'er.  The  third  is  apocope.  An 
example  of  this  is  the  use  of  yon  instead  of  yonder.  This  is 
shown  in  the  "Bugle  Song."  Another  figurative  form  of 
words  is  that  of  combining  by  the  use  of  the  hyphen. 

In  sentences  also  figures  are  formed  by  omission,  as  in  the 
ellipsis.  An  example  of  this  is,  The  virtue  I  admire,  in- 
stead of,  The  virtue  which  I  admire.  Related  to  the  el- 
lipsis is  the  figure  called  asyndeton.  This  is  the  omission 
of  connectives  as,  The  boy,  his  father,  his  mother,  his  sis- 
ter, are  present.  Another  form  is  obtained  by  inserting. 
The  general  term  for  this  is  pleonasm,  as,  "Thy  rod  and 
thy  staff  they  comfort  me. ' '  A  subordinate  form  under  this 
is  epanalepsis.  This  is  the  repetition  of  an  expression 
after  intervening  words  or  expressions,  as  The  sun — that 
great  luminary  of  light  and  warmth — the  sun  began  to  ap- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  145 

pear  in  its  glory.  Another  subordinate  form  is  epizeuxis. 
This  is  the  repetition  of  a  word  or  expression  immediately, 
as,  The  sun — the  sun,  the  great  contributor  of  light  and 
warmth  began  to  appear.  A  third  subordinate  form  is 
termed  polysyndeton.  This  is  the  employment  of  many  con- 
nectives, as  The  boy,  and  his  father,  and  his  mother,  and  his 
sister,  are  present.  The  word  or  may  be  used  in  the  same 
way.  Another  figure  under  the  form  of  sentences  is  ob- 
tained by  substituting  one  part  of  speech  for  another. 
Among  the  examples  often  used  are  the  following  :She  will 
queen  it;  He  will  out-Herod  Herod. 

Symbolic  language  deals  not  only  with  the  form,  but  also 
with  the  content.  Under  the  content  the  symbolism  is 
shown  by  comparison,  by  association  and  by  contrast.  Un- 
der comparison  are  the  well  known  figures  of  simile,  meta- 
phor and  allegory. 

It  has  been  held  that  the  work  on  the  simile  should  at 
first  be  oral  and  common  to  the  class.  In  the  beginning 
there  should  be  the  reading  of  simile  after  simile  and  free 
conversation  concerning  each  one  in  order  to  awaken  the 
thought  that  the  function  of  the  simile  is  merely  to  picture 
or  illustrate  the  writer's  thought,  and  that  the  thought  is 
the  prominent  thing.  In  this  discussion  it  should  appear 
that  similes  are  to  reveal  striking  likenesses  amidst  marked 
differences.  It  is  thus  seen  that  the  enjoyment  of  similes- 
rests  upon  surprise. 

The  work  should  then  change,  and  the  children  should 
enter  upon  the  examination  of  literary  productions  in  order 
to  discover  cases  of  the  simile. 

By  means  of  these  exercises  the  pupils  would  be  prepared 
to  construct  paragraphs  and  brief  compositions  involving 
similes.  In  connection  with  the  metaphor  are  the  forms 
known  as  personification  and  apostrophe. 

The  work  on  personification,  as  that  on  the  simile,  may 


146  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

be  oral  and  common  at  first.  This  will  be  introductory  to 
the  examination  of  literary  productions  for  the  purpose  of 
v discovering  and  studying  examples  of  personification.  The 
mode  of  work  recommended  in  connection  with  the  simile 
and  with  personification  is  mentioned  in  order  to  indicate 
the  spirit  of  work  with  all  figures  of  thought. 

Under  association  are  found  the  two  figures  spoken  of  as 
synecdoche  and  metonymy.  An  example  under  synec- 
doche is,  '  *  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread. ' '  An  example 
under  metonymy  is,  ' '  The  pen  is  mightier  than  the  sword. ' ' 
The  forms  of  symbolic  language  under  contrast  are  anti- 
thesis and  climax.* 

In  these  the  contrast  is  clearly  expressed.  There  are  in 
addition  the  epigram,  the  interrogation  and  irony.  In 
these  the  contrast  is  merely  implied. 

These  various  distinctions  involve  many  strange  terms,  as 
aphaeresis,  syncope,  polysyndeton,  etc.  Shall  these  pupils 
(in  age  about  ten  years)  be  made  acquainted  with  such  un- 
usual terms?  The  difficulty  in  the  use  of  new,  long,  scien- 
tific words  is  not  essentially  in  their  pronunciation,  but  in 
the  clear  knowledge  of  their  content  or  exact  significance. 
When  the  meaning  is  simple  enough  to  be  considered,  the 
exact  scientific  terms  should  be  taught.  For  example,  the 
idea  expressed  by  the  word  polysyndeton  is  easy  of  com- 
prehension. After  the  meaning  has  been  worked  out  the 
exact  scientific  term  should  be  taught  and  used.  To  the 
pupil  there  is  a  distinct  pleasure  in  the  mastery  of  such 
terms.  These  terms  have  been  produced  by  the  race  in  its 
process  of  development,  and  they  have  supplied  a  distinct 
need.  To  be  able  to  comprehend  and  to  use  them  is,  there- 
fore, an. act  on  the  part  of  the  pupil  which  identifies  him 


*In  connection  with  the  study  of  the  climax,  the  distinction  between  it  and  the 
ending  may  be  shown  in  the  examination  of  selections,  involving  the  climax. 
{"The  Problem  of  Elementary  Composition,"  p.  20.) 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  147 

with  the  entire  race.  It  has  a  tendency  to  make  him  univer- 
sal, and  although  he  does  not  distinctly  know  this,  he  feels 
it  to  a  certain  extent  and  experiences  pleasure  on  that  ac- 
count. The  use  of  the  term,isosceles  triangle,  identifies  the 
child  and  his  knowledge  with  the  whole  progress  of  the  sub- 
ject of  geometry;  and  it  gives  him  this  sense  of  the  unity 
with  the  universal,  much  more  than  does  the  expression, 
a  space  inclosed  by  three  lines,  two  of  which  are  equal. 

10.  The  distinction  of  a  selection,  as,  the  ' '  Bugle  Song, ' ' 
into  the  aim  of  the  author  in  writing  it;  the  thought  used 
to  accomplish  the  aim;  the  expression;  the  adaptation  of 
language  to  thought,  and  thought  to  purpose. 

11.  The  distinction  of  the  sentence  into  the  thought  to 
be  communicated;  the  aim  of  the  writer  or  speaker;  the 
adaptation  of  the  language  to  accomplish  the  aim.     This 
last  involves  the  whole  realm  of  distinctions  implied  in 
careful  substitutions.    For  example,  the  pupil  may  be  con- 
sidering the  adaptation  of  the  words  in  the  sentence,  Tlw 
prisoner's  innocence  is  to  be  assumed.     He  may  be  led  to 
see  by  substitution  the  following :  The  innocence  of  the  pris- 
oner is  to  be  supposed. 

12.  The  distinction  of  the  direct  and  the  indirect  quota- 
tion, the  expressions  appropriate  and  their  relative  strength. 

13.  The  distinctions  found  in  the  successive  elements  of 
the  full  activity  in  some  form  of  institutional  life,  as  an  act 
in  the  realm  of  business,  of  state,  etc. 

14.  The  distinctions  found  in  the  successive  elements  of 
a  full  activity  in  nature,  as  an  act  in  the  development  of  a 
plant. 

Selections  from  these  and  similar  distinctions  should  be 
carefully  adapted  to  the  development  of  the  pupil  and  of 
the  subject. 


148  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

The  Third  Stage. 
Sixth  Grade. 

The  work  in  this  stage  is  like  that  of  the  fourth  grade — 
essentially  constructive.  The  work  of  the  fifth  grade  is 
a  consideration  of  distinctions  more  difficult  and  more  ex- 
tensive than  those  examined  in  the  third  grade.  The  pupil 
is  now  prepared  to  enter  upon  this  higher  grade  of  synthetic 
work  on  account  of  the  preparation  given  by  the  work  in 
the  fifth  year. 

As  was  suggested  concerning  the  work  of  the  fourth 
grade,  the  work  in  this  stage  is  not,  and  can  not  be,  solely 
synthetic.  In  constructive  work  necessarily  certain  distinc- 
tions are  brought  into  notice;  but  practically  and  mainly 
this  stage  is  a  synthetic  one  in  which  language  is  viewed  in 
the  process  of  construction. 

The  different  kinds  of  work  are  shown  by  the  following : 

1.  A  careful  study  of  the  primary  law  of  discourse — 
unity  (purpose). 

Let  this  law  be  carefully  illustrated.  After  this  has  been 
done  let  one  or  more  selections  from  discourse  be  examined 
in  order  to  show  how  they  exemplify  this  primary  law. 

2.  A  careful  study  of  the  secondary  laws  of  discourse — 
selection,  completeness,  order. 

Relation   to   the   laws   of   coherence   and   proportion. 
Carefully  and  fully  illustrate  each  of  these  laws,  and 
then  examine  brief  selections  from  discourse  in  order  to  dis- 
cover in  them  the  presence  of  these  laws. 

3.  A  careful  and  systematic  study  of  the  nature  of  the 
paragraph  and  its  laws.* 

Examination  of  paragraphs  selected   from  discourse  in 


*  Study  in  connection  with  this  work  special  works  upon  the  paragraph,  such  for 
example,  as  "Paragraph  Writing,"  by  Scott  and  Den ney,  published  by  Allyn  & 
Bacon,  Boston,  Mass.,  and  "Writing  in  English,"  by  Maxwell  and  Smith,  (especi- 
ally Chapter  IX,)  published  by  the  American  Book  Co. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  149 

order  to  discover  the  presence  of  these  principles  of  the 
paragraph.  More  advanced  work  in  the  elaboration  of  sin- 
gle sentences  into  paragraphs  as  indicated  under  3,  of  the 
fourth  grade  work. 

4.  The  construction  into  a  brief,  organized  discourse  of 
one  or  more  of  the  series  of  separate  sentences,  indicated  in 
13  and  14,  under  the  work  of  the  fifth  grade.    Pupils  should 
in  this  work  be  led  to  consider : 

The  order  of  the  sentences  belonging  to  the  series. 
The  unity  of  the  sentences.    This  would  involve  the  use 
of  and,  for,  because,  etc. 

Elaboration  of  the  different  thoughts. 
Organization  into  paragraphs. 

5.  Advanced  work  in  harmony  with  the  suggestions  made 
under  5  in  the  work  of  the  fourth  grade. 

6.  The  examination  of  a  description  of  a  high  grade 
somewhat  more  difficult  than  that  belonging  to  the  fourth 
grade  to  discover  in  its  structure  the  characteristics  men- 
tioned under  5  of  the  work  of  the  fourth  grade. 

7.  The  selection  of  a  particular  object  viewed  as  chang- 
ing, as  the  formation  of  the  Magna  Charta. 

The  study  of  this  activity  as  to  its  purpose,  time, 
cause,  effects  and  parts. 

The  study  of  one  of  the  parts  as  to  purpose,  time, 
cause  and  effect. 

The  preparation  of  a  brief  narration  by  the  pupil 
setting  forth  the  formation  of  the  Magna  Charta. 

An  examination  of  this  narration  in  order  to  test 
it  by  the  laws  of  discourse. 

8.  Advanced   work   in  harmony  with  the   suggestions 
made  under  11  in  the  work  of  the  fourth  grade. 

9.  The  selection  and  examination  of  letters  written  by 
children  and  by  men  and  women  during  the  different  pe- 
riods of  English  and  American  History.     These  letters,  as 


150  THK  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

those  belonging  to  the  fourth  grade,  should  be  selected  in  so 
far  as  possible,  to  represent  different  classes  of  society.  The 
letters  in  these  grades,  however,  should  relate  largely  to  the 
more  complex  aspects  of  society,  to  business,  to  the  state, 
and  to  the  church.  The  pupils  should  make  a  collection  of 
letters  relating  to  society,  business,  state  and  church,  from 
their  parents,  from  men  of  business,  from  government  offi- 
cials and  from  church  officials.  Selections  should  also  be 
made  from  magazines,  works  on  history  and  on  fiction,  and 
from  the  daily  press. 

Examine  one  or  more  of  the  selected  letters,  testing 
them  by  the  thought  of  5  and  11  of  the  fourth  grade. 

10.     Letter  Writing. 

The  letters  in  this  stage  should  relate  chiefly  to  the  more 
advanced  aspects  of  society,  to  business,  to  the  church  and 
to  the  state.  Among  them,  however,  should  be  letters  upon 
the  more  simple  aspects  of  society  for  children;  friendly 
letters  to  schoolmates  and  to  friends  in  general,  both  in  their 
own  neighborhood  and  in  distant  regions ;  letters  to  parents, 
to  brothers  and  to  sisters.  More  careful  work  than  that  of 
the  fourth  grade  should  be  given  to  the  established  forms 
of  letters.  The  purpose  is  to  enable  the  pupil  to  write  a 
brief  letter  that  is  legible,  correct  in  language,  in  punctua- 
tion, and  in  paragraphing,  on  any  of  the  topics  above  given, 
and  in  any  of  the  relations. 

SPECIAL  DEVICES  OR   MEANS. 

Many  special  devices  have  been  referred  to  in  this  discus- 
sion. Several  important  ones  will  be  mentioned  here.  The 
last  of  these — the  construction  of  a  series  of  sentences — will 
be  given  a  special  explanation,  which  will  bring  into  view 
many  auxiliary  devices : 

1.     The  use  of  the  picture  for  the  purpose  of  description. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  151 

2.  The  use  of  the  picture  to  illustrate  some  event  in  a 
story. 

3.  The  preparation  of  a  brief  outline  for  a  story  by  the 
pupils  with  the  aid  of  the  teacher  and  the  construction  of  a 
story  as  based  upon  this  outline  by  the  pupils. 

4.  The  preparation  of  an  outline  for  a  story  by  the 
pupils  and  the  construction  by  them  of  a  story  based  on  this 
outline. 

5.  The  construction  of  a  series  of  sentences  expressing 
the  different  events  in  an  activity  viewed  as  returning  to  its 
beginning. 

In  the  appendix  examples  of  the  different  series  of  sen- 
tences referred  to  under  the  fifth  kind  of  work  are  given. 
The  action  expressed  in  these  sentences  is  to  be  found  in  the 
work  of  nature  or  in  the  activities  of  man.  The  various 
series  representing  the  activities  of  man  are  to  reveal  his 
processes  in  the  institutions,  that  is,  in  the  family,  in  the 
church,  in  the  state,  etc.  Series  of  sentences  could  be  con- 
structed which  would  reveal  his  processes  in  the  arts,  as  in 
architecture,  painting,  etc.,  and  in  the  modes  of  activity  by 
which  he  reveals  himself  in  games  and  plays. 

In  the  series  of  sentences  given  in  the  appendix,  none 
relate  to  the  field  of  art  or  to  games  or  plays.  The  pupils 
under  the  guidance  of  the  teacher,  may  be  led  to  grade 
games  and  plays  according  to  their  adaptation  to  the  age 
and  development  of  the  pupils,  and  to  construct  series  of 
sentences  expressing  the  activity  in  typical  games  and  plays. 
The  various  series  presented  in  the  appendix  and  also  others 
to  be  constructed  should  be  graded  upon  certain  definite 
principles.  Among  these  principles  are  familiarity,  sim- 
plicity, and  the  rise  from  a  high  degree  of  passivity  through 
the  different  stages  of  advancement  to  a  high  degree  of  ac- 
tivity. The  different  series  given  as  examples  are  distrib- 
uted and  graded  mainly  according  to  the  third  principle. 


152  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

They  are  subject,  however,  to  a  new  distribution  and  grada- 
tion in  the  light  of  the  first  and  second  principles  sug- 
gested.* 


*  The  following  may  be  consulted  to  advantage  in  the  different  kinds  of  work 
indicated  above  : 

1.  "How  to  Learn  a  language  in  Six  Months,  by  W.  T.  Stead,  (Review  of  Re- 
views, Vol.  V,  July,  1892.) 

2.  "The  Art  of  Teaching  and  Studying  languages,"  by  M.  Francois  Gouin. 

3.  How  to  Learn  a  language,"  by  J.  S.  Blackie.     (Review  of  Reviews,  Vol.  VI, 
August,  1892.) 

4.  "The  Mother  Tongue,"  Books  I,  II  and  III.     (Ginn  &  Co.) 

5.  "  How  to  Learn  a  language  in  Six  Months."    A  Report  of  Progress,  by  R. 
W.  Waddy,  and  others.     (Review  of  Reviews,  Vol.  VI,  Nov.,  1892.) 

6.  "A  Royal  Road  to  Learn  Languages."    The  Result  of  Six  Months'  Experi- 
ment—W.  T.  Stead's  Report  Upon  the  Experiment  in  His  Family.    (Review  of  Re- 
views, Vol.  VII,  March,  1893.) 

7.  "The  Acquisition  of  Language  by  Children,"  by  M.  Taine.     (Mind,  Vol.  II, 
April,  1877.) 

8.  An  Infant's  Progress  in  Language,"  by  F.  Pollock.     (Mind,  Vol.  II,  July 
1873.) 

9.  "Thought  and  Language,"  by  G.  F.  Stout.    Mind,  Vol.  XVI,  Jan.  1891.) 

10.  The  Chapter  on— Language  Tone  and  and  Gesture;  Articulation,  Relation  of 
Tone  and  Gesture  to  Words,  Speech— in  "Mental  Evolution  in  Man,1'  by  George  J. 
Romanes. 

1 1.  "Language  for  The  Grades,"  by  J.  B.  Wisely.    (Atkinson,  Meutzer  &  Grover, 
Chicago.) 

12.  "The  Threefo  d  Purpose  of  Primary  Language  Work,"  by  J.  B.  Wisely.    (A 
brief  article  in  the  Inland  Educator,  Vol.  Ill,  Nov.,  1890.) 

1  -.     "Beginning  Steps  in  Composition,"  by  H.  C.  Peterson.     (A.  Flanagan,  Chi- 
cago.) 

14.  "The  Problem  of  Elementary  Composition,"  by  Elizabeth  Spalding.     (D.  C. 
Heath  &  Co.) 

15.  "The  Teaching  of  English,"  by  Percival  Chubb.     (The  Macmillan  Co.^ 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  153 


CHAPTER   VII. 


,        METHOD  IN  A  LESSON. 

The  material  in  a  lesson  is  identical  in  nature  with  the 
material  of  an  entire  branch  of  study.  Method  in  a  lesson 
is,  therefore,  characterized  by  the  same  essential  elements 
as  method  in  a  branch  of  study.  Each  lesson  has  its  domi- 
nant idea.  This  is  the  organizing  principle.  The  subject- 
matter  in  expressing  the  general  nature  of  the  material  and 
the  attribute  to  be  emphasized,  indicates  the  scope.  The  as- 
signment sets  forth,  substantially,  the  divisions,  subdivi- 
sions and  their  relative  importance.  The  steps  reveal  the 
psychological  process  of  the  learner,  and  the  devices  corre- 
spond to  the  same  element  in  the  method  in  the  branch  of 
study.  In  the  method  of  the  lesson,  however,  these  seven 
aspects  of  method  in  a  branch  of  study  are  treated  under 
subject-matter,  assignment,  steps,  purpose  and  devices.  The 
psychological  aspect  is  somewhat  more  prominent  in  the 
method  of  the  lesson  than  in  the  method  of  a  branch  of 
study.  Therefore,  the  method  of  the  lesson  is  developed 
from  the  principle  underlying  the  process  of  education. 

The  method  in  the  lesson  is,  indeed,  practically  the  activ- 
ity which  is  characteristic  of  education.  Education  is  not 
merely  knowledge;  it  is  aspiration,  insight,  power.  That 
branch  of  study  which  arouses  most  fully  the  activity  of 
the  student,  is  the  one  that  is  the  most  educative  to  him. 
This  subject,  to  some  students,  is  history;  to  others,  it  is 
mathematics;  and  to  still  others,  physical  science.  Educa- 
tion has  its  principle,  and  the  method  in  a  lesson  is  identical 


154  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

with  this  principle.  A  principle  is  the  essential  mode  of  ac- 
tivity in  an  object  or  process.  The  principle  in  education  is 
that  psychological  activity  or  process  in  the  pupil  which  is 
manifested  in  every  stage  of  his  development. 

This  central,  comprehensive  principle  of  education  is  best 
denoted,  perhaps,  by  the  term  self-determination. 

The  word  determination  is  not  here  used  to  signify  a  fixed 
purpose,  although  its  meaning  includes  such  acts.  The  ex- 
pression, "determination,"  means  limitation,  indicating 
that  when  the  self  is  existing  in  a  given  particular  act  a 
termination  has  been  put  to  all  other  special  acts,  except  in 
so  far  as  they  are  involved  in  the  given  particular  act,  and 
furthermore,  that  a  permanent  limit  has  been  given  to  the 
self,  in  that  a  tendency  to  react  the  particular  act  has  be- 
come a  trait  or  characteristic. 

Why,  however,  is  the  principle  or  mode  of  activity  re- 
ferred to  as  ^//-determination  ? 

In  order  to  imply  that  the  object  in  the  physical  or  in  the 
spiritual  environment  which  seems  to  be  the  cause  of  the 
particular  mental  state  is  merely  a  stimulus,  an  excitant. 

The  self  having  been  stimulated  by  some  object  in  its  en 
vironment,  acts  upon  itself  and  thus  produces  a  particular 
act  or  state  of  itself.     The  self  as  a  distinctive  energy  or 
entity,  creates  out  of  its  potential  condition  the  special  state 
of  itself. 

It  is  to  be  noted  further  that  the  activity  or  principle  of 
self-determination  has  its  process  or  stages. 

1.  The  self  as  energy  exists  as  mere  capacity,  as  poten- 
tiality.   This  is  a  condition  of  fused  unity.    In  a  sense,  the 
mind  is  '  *  without  form  and  void. ' ' 

2.  The  self,  aroused  by  a  stimulating  object,  creates  in 
itself  a  definite,  particular  activity.     The  result  is  separa- 
tion.    The  self  in  this  mental  state  is  different  from  itself 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 


155 


in  the  potential  stage  and  also  from  itself  in  any  other 
special  activity. 

3.  The  self  then  becomes  negative  and  brings  to  an  end 
its  particular  activity.  The  energy  involved  in  the  given 
activity  returns,  as  it  were,  to  the  potential  condition,  with, 
however,  a  definite  tendency  to  react  the  special  activity 
which  has  just  been  brought  to  an  end,  apparently. 

The  foregoing  signifies  that  the  self,  in  the  process  of  edu- 
cation, gradually  gives  to  itself  its  own  definite  traits  or 
characteristics,  by  producing  them  out  of  its  native  but  un- 
developed capacity.  This  principle  of  education  is  an- 
nounced by  Rosenkranz  in  "Philosophy  of  Education," 
page  26. 

One  may  make  the  principle  more  real  to  himself,  and  un- 
derstand more  fully  its  universality,  by  considering 
thoughtfully  "The  Rhythm  of  Motion,"  in  First  Principles, 
by  Herbert  Spencer,  pp.  250-271 ;  the  process  in  the  seed,  in 
the  amceba,  in  the  object  expressed  by  the  sentence,  in  a 
drama  or  in  any  other  form  of  fiction. 

The  second  element  in  the  principle  of  self-determination, 
i.  e.,  the  special  activity,  differentiates  into : 

The  process  of  objectifying  or  making  existent  in  the 
world  ideas  that  are  strictly  subjective. 

The  process  of  rendering  subjective  objective  existences 
whether  physical  or  spiritual. 

The  Objectifying  Process.  The  idea  to  be  objectified  may 
be  that — 

Of  some  object  of  utility,  as  the  cotton  gin,  the  Brooklyn 
bridge,  the  constitution  of  the  United  States. 

Of  an  idealized  activity,  as  the  spiritual  condition  ex- 
pressed in  ' '  The  Chambered  Nautilus. ' ' 

Of  a  form  of  conduct  or  behavior. 

Of  these  three,  the  last  has  been  selected  for  a  brief  con- 


156  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

sideration  because  of  its  explicit  manifestation  of  the 
process  in  education. 

Behavior  always  implies  a  criterion  to  which  one  is  to 
conform.  This  is  the  reason  that  any  human  activity  may 
become  moral. 

The  first  stage  in  behavior  is  that  in  which  the  criterion 
seems  to  be  externally  imposed,  as  the  regulations  of  the 
home,  the  rules  of  school,  the  Ten  Commandments. 

The  second  stage  in  behavior  is  that  in  which  the  criterion 
is  subjective  only.  This  is  the  realm  of  conscience.  If  con- 
science is  irrational  obedience  to  it  can  not  be  justified.  If 
it  is  universal  it  will  ultimately  become  institutional  and 
thus  pass  over  into  the  third  class  of  criteria.  Paul  per- 
secuted the  Christians  in  obedience  to  his  conscience.  But 
his  conscience  was  irrational,  because  if  made  universal  in 
its  application  it  would  have  meant  that  every  one  was  to 
be  persecuted  for  his  religious  belief  by  every  one  who  did 
not  believe  in  the  same  way.  The  conscience  of  the  East 
Indian  impelled  him  to  bury  the  living  wives  with  the  dead 
husband,  but  the  conscience  of  the  British  officer  com- 
manded the  abolition  of  the  custom.  In  order  to  be  a  true 
guide  the  conscience  must  be  educated  and  thus  made  uni- 
versal. 

The  third  stage  in  behavior  is  that  in  which  the  criterion 
is  subjective-objective,  thus  possessing  the  form  of  univer- 
sality. The  criterion  may  become  subjective-objective  in 
either  of  two  ways — 

1.  By  having  the  one  who  obeys  the  criterion  a  partici- 
pant in  the  creation  of  it. 

2.  By  having  the  one  who  obeys  it,  study  the  criterion 
until  he  sees  the  rational  ground  for  it.  In  this  way  he  takes 
it  up  into  his  consciousness  and  recreates  it,  as  it  were.  For 
example,  if  the  Jews  had  assembled  in  convention,  and  un- 
der free  discussion,  had  formulated  and  adopted  the  Ten 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  157 

Commandments  as  a  criterion  of  conduct,  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments would  have  been  a  subjective-objective  criterion 
produced  in  the  first  way.  After  the  Ten  Commandments 
had  been  promulgated  they  could  have  been  rendered  sub- 
jective-objective to  any  individual  Jew  by  having  him 
study  the  reason  underlying  them  until  he  justified  them  in 
his  own  reason.  He  would  thus  have  recreated  them,  and, 
in  a  sense,  would  have  become  the  producer  of  them.  In 
these  ways  the  regulations  of  the  home,  the  rules  of  school, 
the  rules  of  base  ball,  lawn  tennis,  the  by-laws  of  an  or- 
ganization, a  party  platform,  the  customs  of  society,  the 
rules  of  business,  the  creed  or  discipline  of  a  church,  and 
the  laws  of  the  state  become  subjective-objective  criteria. 

These  stages  of  activity  constitute  the  principle  of  dis- 
cipline or  government. 

The  Subjectifying  Process.  This  is  the  process  of  knowl- 
edge or  of  scholarship.  It  implies  that  the  Infinite  con- 
sciousness and  the  finite  consciousness  have  each  passed 
from  the  potential  condition  into  the  stage  of  distinction,  or 
the  separative  stage.  To  exist  in  this  second  stage  is  to  ob- 
jectify. The  Infinite  consciousness  has  objectified  itself  in 
suns,  stars,  clouds,  plants,  animals,  i.  e.,  in  the  universe  of 
nature.  The  finite  consciousness  has  objectified  itself  in  the 
arts,  in  machinery,  in  means  of  communication,  in  books, 
and  in  all  kinds  of  manufactured  objects.  Scholarship  con- 
sists in  rendering  subjective  these  two  great  realms — the 
world  of  nature  and  the  world  of  man.  Each  object  in 
either  of  these  realms  is  essentially  the  self.  It  is  the  self 
objectified.  Its  essence  is  the  process  of  the  self  involved 
in  the  objeetification.  The  essence  of  the  cotton  gin  is  the 
process  of  Eli  Whitney's  mind  in  creating  it.  It  is  not 
alien  to  him,  and  hence  not  to  mankind.  The  self  of  the 
most  immature  mind  is  essentially  reflected  in  the  cotton 
gin.  It  is  the  acme  of  scholarship  to  possess  the  tendency  to 


158  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

apprehend  intelligence,  purpose  or  the  process  of  the  self  as 
the  essence  of  the  object.  To  discover  the  self  in  an  ob- 
ject does  not  mean  that  a  subjective,  introspective  ego  is  ac- 
tively present  in  the  object  as  in  the  animated  body.  The 
meaning  is  that  the  rational  process  of  consciousness  is  re- 
flected in  the  object.  The  rational  process  involves  essen- 
tially a  consciousness  of  limit  or  defect,  idealization  of  a 
new  condition  lacking  the  limit,  desire  for  the  new  condi- 
tion, choice  of  the  reality  of  the  new  condition,  creation  of 
the  new  condition.  To  become  aware  of  the  reason  for  the 
web  feet  in  the  swan  is  to  discover  the  self  in  the  object.  It 
is  to  comprehend  the  process  of  intelligence  in  the  Infinite 
consciousness  which,  through  the  process  of  evolution,  gave 
rise  to  that  structure  in  the  swan. 

The  General  Nature  of  Knowing. 

It  may  contribute  to  a  clear  knowledge  of  the  stages  in 
knowing,  to  refer  to  the  sense  in  which  the  words  object  and 
image  are  used. 

In  general  usage  the  word,  "object,"  signifies  a  space- 
occupying  existence,  as  a  tree,  a  chair,  a  cloud,  etc.  In 
psychology,  the  term  is  used  not  only  to  signify  existences 
of  this  kind,  but  also  to  denote  any  existence  whatever,  phy- 
sical or  psychical,  possible  or  impossible.  The  term  is  used 
to  denote  that  which  is  being  attended  to  by  the  subject. 
Whatever  is  set  over  against  the  self  as  an  activity  is  con- 
sidered to  be  an  object.  If  the  self  examines  its  own  ac- 
tivity, the  activity  which  is  examined  is  regarded  as  an 
object,  while  the  activity  of  examining  is  spoken  of  as  sub- 
ject. Even  the  most  fleeting  psychological  or  philosophical 
phenomenon  is  an  object. 

The  term,  "image,"  also  has  its  narrower  and  wider 
significance.  In  the  narrower  sense,  it  denotes  a  mental 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  159 

state  which  signifies  a  space  occupying  object.  In  this 
sense,  it  is  regarded  as  the  mental  transcript  or  picture  of 
the  object.  In  psychology,  however,  the  word  has  not  only 
this  meaning,  but  also  an  additional  one.  The  term  sig- 
nifies the  special  mental  state  at  any  given  instant.  The 
particular  mental  condition  at  any  time,  following  one 
mental  state  and  preceeding  another,  and  characterized  by 
a  certain  definiteness  of  detail,  intensity,  etc.,  is  an  image, 
even  if  it  signifies  an  abstract  object.  The  mental  state  de- 
noting diversity,  patriotism,  infinity,  etc.,  is  termed  an 
image  in  psychology.  The  word,  "image"  signifies  any 
initial  mental  state  whatever,  and  the  object  denoted  by 
the  mental  state  may  be  material  or  immaterial.  The  image 
is  merely  the  initial  aspect  of  a  mental  process  as  the  spring 
is  a  source  of  a  river.  The  spring  is  not  one  object  and  the 
river  a  separate  object.  That  which  is  termed  spring  or 
source  is  the  river  itself  in  its  beginning  aspect,  while  that 
which  is  termed  river  is  the  spring  or  source  in  its  developed 
state.  In  other  words,  the  image  is  not  one  distinct  mental 
state  while  the  succeeding  stages  constitute  another  dis- 
tinct mental  act  in  which  the  mind  manipulates  the  image. 

In  entering  upon  a  study  of  knowing,  i.  e.,  of  the  process 
of  rendering  the  objective  subjective,  it  is  to  be  noticed  that 
it  exhibits  certain  stages,  marked  by  development. 

The  first,  which  has  least  recognition  of  the.  self  in  the 
object  is  sense-perception.  In  every  act  of  sense-perception 
there  is  involved  the  self  as  an  energy,  the  process  in  the 
particular  act,  and  the  object  perceived  as  present.  The 
sense-perceptive  act  is  one  of  fusion- in  that  the  object  per- 
ceived is  regarded  as  entirely  different  from  the  self,  there 
being  no  recognition  that  the  object  is  an  objectification  of 
the  self;  in  that  neither  the  self  as  an  energy  nor  the 
special  process  in  the  particular  act  is  in  consciousness.  In 
sense-perception  the  mind  is  engrossed  with  the  object  as 


160  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

something  quite  distinct  from  the  self.  This  mode  of  ac- 
tivity is  known  as  presentation. 

Its  first  stage  is  sensation.  This  is  the  process  of  becom- 
ing aware  of  the  entire  environment  as  an  indistinct  whole. 
In  the  form  of  successive  and  simultaneous  sensations  the 
mind  responds  to  the  various  characteristics  of  the  present 
objects.  All  sensations  with  their  corresponding  attributes 
are  given  slight  attention,  but  there  is  no  special  emphasis 
or  selection. 

In  sensation  the  mind  is  rather  under  the  domination  of 
the  external  world,  although  each  sensation  is  a  manifesta- 
tion of  self -activity,  in  that  the  self  created  it  out  of  itself. 
It  is  not  received. 

The  second  stage  is  perception.  In  perception  the  mind 
withdraws  its  slight  attention  from  all  attributes  or  objects 
being  sensed  except  one.  In  concentrates  its  energy  upon 
this  one  object,  dwelling  upon  it  until  it  has  created  a 
distinct  image  of  the  object.  The  self  projects  this  image. 
That  is,  it  interprets  the  image  to  signify  the  object  as 
present. 

The  third  stage  in  presentation  is  apperception.  Percep- 
tion is  separative.  It  distinguishes  the  object  from  the 
fused  environment  and  the  special  act  of  perception  from 
the  condition  of  the  self  in  sensing. 

Apperception  is,  however,  a  unifying  process.  It  unifies 
the  present  image  of  the  present  object  with  kindred  ideas 
or  tendencies  which  are  already  elements  or  constituents  of 
the  organized  self.  The  present  image  may  be  that  signi- 
fying a  present  white  grape,  (the  first  one  known.)  In  ap- 
perception this  idea  is  identified  with  and  differentiated 
from  already  existing  ideas  of  grapes  and  of  other  fruits. 
This  process  gives  organization  to  newly  created  knowledge. 

The  process  of  subjectifying  has  as  its  second  stage  rep- 
resentation. This  is  more  nearly  a  recognition  of  the  self 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  161 

in  the  object  because,  the  object  being  absent,  the  mind  tends 
to  consider  itself  as  the  producer  of  the  image  of  the  object. 
The  object  is  still  regarded  as  distinct  from  the  self.  There 
is  no  consciousness  that  the  process  of  the  self  is  the  essence 
of  the  real  object.  There  is,  however,  a  knowledge  of  a 
certain  degree  of  identity.  The  image,  which  constitutes 
one  element  of  the  self,  is  known  to  be  a  psychical  recrea- 
tion of  the  object.  Thus  a  kind  of  superficial  identity  is 
felt. 

The  mechanical  stage  of  representation  is  memory.  It  is 
spontaneous,  voluntary  or  systematic. 

Spontaneous  memory  exhibits  the  potential  stage  of  con- 
sciousness. The  elements  in  the  process  are  fused  or  indis- 
tinct, and  there  is  no  contradiction  in  the  self. 

Voluntary  memory  manifests  the  second  or  separative 
stage  of  consciousness.  It  involves  a  contradiction  in  the 
self  in  that  there  is  an  effort  to  direct  and  stimulate  the 
spontaneous  activities.  The  mind  discovers  that,  at  the 
time,  it  is  unable  to  act  in  the  direction  desired.  There  is 
thus,  division  in  the  self.  It  is  based  upon  the  act  of  for- 
getting, the  negative  aspect  of  memory. 

Systematic  memory  is  a  remembering  which  involves  both 
the  voluntary  and  the  spontaneous  process.  This  form  of 
remembering  includes  all  that  is  signified  by  the  term  mne- 
monics from  its  superficial  to  its  rational  aspects.  The  self 
always  has  a  mnemonic  system  of  its  own  and  the  value  of 
this  system  depends  on  the  degree  of  culture.  Systematic 
memory  is  a  remembering  planned  before  hand  in  order  to 
enable  the  self  to  react  voluntarily  the  beginning  element  in 
the  process.  This  then  stimulates  the  spontaneous  process. 

A  higher  form  of  representation  is  imagination.  The 
freedom  of  the  self  begins  to  appear  distinctly  in  imagina- 
tion. Not  only  does  the  mind  recognize  itself  as  the  pro- 


162  .     THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

ducer  of  the  image,  but  it  also  discovers  that  to  a  degree  it 
recreates  in  a  new  form  the  object  itself. 

In  imagination  the  mind  interprets  the  image  which  it 
has  produced  in  itself,  to  signify  a  particular  object,  not 
present  at  the  time  and  never  present.  The  process  of 
imagination  has  several  forms,  as  the  mechanical,  the  sepa- 
rative  and  the  creative  or  poetic. 

The  mechanical  imagination  may  relate  to  present  objects 
or  to  absent  objects.  For  example,  while  engaged  in  consid- 
ering an  object  which  has  just  been  sense-perceived,  the  self 
may  modify  one  or  more  of  the  elements  in  the  sense-per- 
ception image,  as,  the  element  denoting  the  roughness.  This 
changes  the  image  to  an  imagination  image,  and  the  image 
is  interpreted  to  denote  a  smooth  object  of  the  kind  under 
consideration.  The  object  will  be  known  as  not  present  at 
the  time  and  as  not  at  any  time  present. 

A  similar  change  may  be  brought  about  by  the  self  when 
it  is  engaged  in  remembering  an  object.  The  object  of  mem- 
ory may  be  a  field  of  green  wheat.  While  existing  in  the 
act  of  remembering,  the  mind  may  reconstruct  the  memory 
image  so  that  it  is  the  image  of  a  field  of  ripened  wheat. 
This  image  is  interpreted  to  signify  an  object  not  at  any 
time  present. 

The  separative  imagination  is  so  termed  for  the  reason 
that  the  self  creates  the  image  of  a  given  object,  as  of  a 
word  or  of  some  externality  in  a  product  of  art,  and  then 
interprets  the  image  to  denote,  not  the  object  which  has 
been  imaged,  but  instead,  a  separate  object.  For  example, 
a  person  may  create  the  image  of  the  expression,  "It  was 
the  great  hall  of  William  Euf us, ' '  and  interpret  the  image 
to  signify  not  this  expression,  but  rather  quite  a  separate 
object,  namely,  a  large  hall  in  London,  as  not  at  any  time 
present  to  the  person  who  is  imagining  it.  This  form  of 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  163 

imagination  is  very  prominent  in  history,  geography,  dis- 
course, etc. 

The  second  form  of  separative  imagination  is  concerned 
directly  with  the  externalities  of  ordinary  pictures,  and  of 
works  of  art,  as,  products  in  architecture,  sculpture,  paint- 
ing, etc.  For  example,  let  it  be  assumed  that  a  person  has 
constructed  the  image  of  the  marble  which  has  been  chiseled 
into  the  shape  of  a  hand  in  the  statue  of  Minerva.  The 
mind,  instead  of  interpreting  this  image  to  denote  the  actual 
marble  so  shaped,  interprets  it  to  signify  the  actual  hand, 
as  an  object  not  now  present,  and  never  present. 

The  imagination  is  also  creative  or  poetic.  This  may  be 
illustrated  by  reference  to  language. 

In  the  very  early  stages  the  child  uses  the  same  word  for 
two  different  objects,  not  knowing  that  the  objects  are  dif- 
ferent. Since  the  impression  is  the  same  as  that  previously 
experienced,  he  assumes  the  object  to  be  the  same.  Thus 
if  the  child  calls  the  moon  a  lamp,  his  language  is  not  fig- 
urative. He  assumes  it  to  be  a  lamp,  since  the  impression 
is  similar  to  that  experienced  when  looking  at  a  lamp.  In 
the  same  way  a  little  child  calls  any  man  father. 

A  second  stage  in  language  is  that  in  which  the  metaphor 
is  created.  There  is,  first,  the  existence  of  a  dim  concep- 
tion, as  of  something  that  is  protective.  This  is  then  dif- 
ferentiated into  two  clear  conceptions,  as  for  example,  into 
the  idea  of  the  advantage  and  protection  belonging  to  one  if 
the  spirit  is  characterized  by  a  godly  disposition  and  on  the 
other  hand  into  the  idea  of  a  shield  as  protecting  the  body. 
The  third  notion  is  that  of  the  identity  of  the  two  concep- 
tions. This  is  expressed  in  the  form  of  the  metaphor,  as 
"God  is  a  shield." 

The  next  stage  in  the  development  of  language  is  that 
which  gives  rise  to  the  simile.  Here  the  discrimination  is 
greater  than  in  the  metaphor.  The  two  objects  are  seen 


164  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

clearly  to  be  different  and  yet  an  identity  is  discovered.  The 
expression  is,  "God  is  like  a  shield." 

The  fourth  stage  in  the  development  of  language  is  one 
that  gives  rise  to  prose.  In  this  case  there  is  no  considera- 
tion of  two  objects,  but  merely  of  an  object  and  its  attribute, 
as  "God  protects." 

In  general  the  creative  imagination  is  that  form  of  men- 
tal activity  in  which  a  spiritual  condition  is  exhibited  in 
terms  of  the  physical. 

Under  representation  there  is  a  third  stage  involving  both 
memory  and  imagination,  and  even  higher  forms  of  know- 
ing. It  is  a  mode  of  consciousness  in  which  the  transition 
to  thought  is  made.  It  involves  the  consideration  of  lan- 
guage or  signs  in  general.  The  term  often  used  for  this 
mental  process  is  interpretation.  Interpretation,  however, 
indicates  one-half  only  of  the  language  process,  i.  e.,  that 
process  in  which — 

Language  already  existing  is  observed, 

The  content  or  meaning  is  remembered,  .imagined  or 
conceived  and 

The  language  is  judged  to  signify  the  content. 
The  other  process  in  language  is  creative.     It  is  as  fol- 
lows: 

The  mind  constructs  an  idea. 

It  imagines  or  remembers  language  adapted  to  this  idea. 

It  judges  this  language  to  signify  the  idea. 
A  good  term  for  the  complete  process  is  the  language  act. 
The  third  and  most  important  stage  in  the  process  of  sub- 
jectifying is  thought.     Thought  is  that  mode  of  activity  in 
which  the  self  discovers  its  own  process  to  be  the  essence  of 
the  object.     In  the  process  of  thought  the  mind  becomes 
aware  of  its  essential  identity  with  the  object.   Although  it 
is  not  obvious,  nevertheless  any  process  of  answering  the 
cmestion,  "Why?"  is  a  process  of  discerning-  the  intelligence 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  165 

manifested  in  the  object.  If  one  by  study  answers  the  ques- 
tion, "Why  has  the  orange  a  rind?"  he  puts  forth  the 
process  of  finding  the  process  of  self  in  the  orange.  That 
is,  he  becomes  conscious  of  intelligence  in  the  structure  of 
the  orange.  In  thinking,  the  mind  has  its  own  process  as 
its  object,  although  its  object  seems  to  be  something  else. 

To  become  conscious  of  the  reason  for  the  stopper  in  an 
ink  bottle  is  to  comprehend  the  intelligence  in  the  stopper, 
the  significance  of  it.  The  stopper  is  an  object  of  meaning. 
This  is  to  say  that  it  is  the  objectification  of  a  volitional 
process.  Before  the  existence  of  the  stopper  a  conscious 
process  substantially  as  follows  occurred : 

1.  A  person  became  aware  that  the  ink  in  the  receptacle 
with  no  covering  evaporated  too  rapidly,  received  too  much 
dust  and  was  likely  to  be  lost  through  the  overturning  of 
the  receptacle. 

2.  He  idealized  or  imagined  a  condition  in  which  these 
things  could  not  occur. 

3.  He  experienced  some  degree  of  mingled  pain  and 
pleasure  on  account  of  the  consciousness  of  the  contrasted 
conditions. 

4.  He  desired  the  idealized  condition. 

5.  He  chose  to  produce  it. 

6.  He  thought  out  the  process  of  producing  it;  that  is, 
he  constructed  the  notion  of  the  stopper  and  of  the  process 
of  creating  it. 

7.  His  purpose  and  intelligence  having  given  freedom  to 
the  appropriate  impulses  he  put  forth  the  series  of  actions 
necessary  to  produce  the  stopper. 

8.  He  judged  and  accepted  the  result. 

In  this  sense  the  stopper  is  an  objectification  of  the 
process  of  the  self.  When  the  stopper  is  sense-perceived, 
remembered  or  imagined,  this  process  is  not  known.  To 


166  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

think  the  stopper,  however,  is  to  obtain  a  notion  of  the 
process  of  mind  which  is  its  essence.  Thought  discovers  the 
intelligence  under  the  object.  In  the  process  of  thought  the 
self  faces  its  own  process  and  identifies  the  process  with 
itself. 

There  are  degrees  in  the  clearness  with  which  this  is  done. 

The  first  and  lowest  stage  of  thought  is  called  understand- 
ing. This  is  the  dim  knowing  of  the  process  of  the  self  as 
the  essence  of  the  object.  It  is  an  indistinct  consciousness 
of  intelligence  of  meaning  as  the  reality  of  the  object.  The 
peculiarity  is  that  it  fails  to  realize  that  the  object  has  with- 
in it  a  process  or  energy  which  creates  and  organizes  it.  To 
the  understanding,  the  object  is  organized  from  without; 
the  distinctions  of  the  object  are  externally  imposed.  They 
do  not,  to  the  understanding,  arise  from  a  generic  force 
within  the  object. 

Still  the  process  of  understanding  is  a  process  of  thinking, 
because  there  is  some  consciousness  of  meaning,  or  of  the 
ego  as  the  essence  of  the  thing  understood. 

Understanding  is  marked  by  three  stages. 

The  first  stage  is  apprehension.  In  this  stage  the  mean- 
ing is  grasped  in  a  fused  or  indistinct  way. 

Apprehension  is  rather  a  feeling  of  meaning.  This  is  in- 
dicated by  the  popular  use  of  the  word. 

The  second  stage  is  that  of  distinction.  This  stage  is 
separation.  In  it  the  mind  analyzes  or  isolates  in  order  to 
remove  the  indistinctness  of  apprehension.  The  processes 
in  distinguishing  are  abstracting,  discriminating  and  com- 
paring. Comparing  is  a  separating  or  distinguishing  which 
has  an  element  of  unity  in  it.  It  is  therefore  the  basis  and 
the  transition  to  classification. 

Classification  is  the  third  stage  of  the  process  of  under- 
standing. It  also  has  subordinate  stages  within  it. 

The  first  is  identifying.     In  this  act  the  mind  unifies  the 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  167 

object  with  a  class  on  the  basis  of  some  external  attribute. 
This  act  is  sometimes  termed  generalizing  because  it  indi- 
cates a  somewhat  superficial  consideration.  The  word  gen- 
eralizing is,  however,  usually  restricted  to  the  act  of  discov- 
ering a  general  truth  in  the  inductive  process. 

The  second  is  separating  the  object  into  cause  and  effect. 
This  unifies  it  with  two  classes — causes  and  effects. 

The  third  is  unifying  the  object  with  its  own  inner  law  or 
organizing  energy.  This  process  is  the  discovery  of  the 
structural  principle  of  the  object,  but  the  mind  as  under- 
standing becomes  aware  of  it  merely  as  a  passive  attribute, 
and  not  as  a  genetic,  inner  force  giving  rise  to  all  the  dis- 
tinctions in  the  object. 

The  second  stage  of  thought  is  sometimes  termed  ratiocin- 
ation. It  is  the  distinguishing  process  of  the  mind  as  a 
thinking  activity.  It  is  the  separative  stage  growing  out  of 
the  stage  of  fusion  or  potentiality  represented  by  under- 
standing. This  stage  of  thought  differs  from  the  previous 
stage  in  that  the  energy  producing  the  object  and  its  details 
is  regarded  as  within  the  object. 

When  the  mental  process  manifests  development,  a  new 
term  is  required  to  denote  the  differentiation.  The  word, 
" understanding,"  signifies  a  mental  process  which  termi- 
nates in  a  knowledge  of  the  central  meaning  of  the  object, 
regarded  as  merely  there,  but  not  as  giving  rise  to  the  ob- 
ject and  its  differentiations.  As  the  self  develops,  this 
central  characteristic,  which  the  mind  has  discovered  in  its 
act  of  understanding,  appears  to  the  self  as  a  generic 
energy.  This  is  really  consciousness  of  the  general  or  uni- 
versal as  manifested  in  the  particular  which  it  has  pro- 
duced. The  object  known  constitutes,  therefore,  the  true 
individual.  If  this  awareness  of  the  unity  of  the  generic 
activity  with  the  particular  which  it  produces  is  somewhat 
potential,  with  the  emphasis  upon  the  general,  and  with  the 


.168  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

distinction  between  the  general  and  the  particular  rather 
implicit,  the  act  is  conccptive;  if  the  distinction  is  explicit 
and  the  awareness  of  the  two  clearly  distinct  aspects  is 
definite,  the  act  is  one  of  judgment;  if  in  discovering  the 
unity  of  the  two  aspects  the  awareness  is  deeper  than  a 
consciousness  of  the  unity,  in  that  it  includes  also,  and 
mainly,  a  knowledge  of  the  ground  or  reason  of  the  unity, 
the  activity  is  that  of  reasoning.  In  case  the  ground,  or 
mediating  principle,  is  the  uniformity  of  the  process  of  the 
generic  force,  which  has  been  discovered  in  the  particular 
object,  or  in  a  number  of  such  objects,  the  reasoning  is  in- 
ductive. If  the  mediating  principle  is  the  identity  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  class  with  each  particular  of  the  class, 
the  reasoning  is  termed  deductive. 

To  designate  the  common  characteristic  of  these  four 
stages  of  becoming  conscious  of  the  generic  in  its  relation 
to  the  particular,  the  term,  "  ratiocination, "  is  employed. 
T?y  roine  psychologists,  the  words,  "elaboration"  and  "re- 
flection" are  used  in  a  somewhat  similar  sense.  The  word, 
"ratiocination"  emphasizes  the  idea  of  a  generic  energy 
v/hich  is  productive  of  the  object  and  also  of  the  differences 
in  it  and  in  the  class.  The  category  of  the  mental  process 
denoted  by  this  term  is  difference  while  that  belonging  to 
the  act  of  understanding  is  identity.  It  is  true  that  in 
understanding  an  object  its  distinctions  are  discovered,  but 
they  are  regarded  as  imposed  mechanically,  or  from  with- 
out, while  the  differences  recognized  in  ratiocination  are 
known  as  arising  from  the  creative  energy  which  gives 
origin  to  the  object  itself.  In  ratiocination  the  idea  of  an 
object  is  regarded  as  that  which  gives  it  being  and  which 
accounts  for  all  of  its  parts,  attributes  and  relations.  The 
term  has  its  root  in  the  Latin  word,  "ratio,"  which  signi- 
fies reason.  John  Stuart  Mill  limits  the  term  to  the  process 
of  necessary  inferences  because  he  is  unwilling  to  admit 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

that  ratiocination  is,  properly  speaking,  reasoning.  If  the 
process  of  ratiocination  is  to  be  thought  of  as  including  rea- 
soning, it  is,  on  the  other  hand,  to  be  distinguished  from 
the  higher  stage  of  thought  known  as  reason,  intuition  or 
insight.  Sir  William  Hamilton's  notion  of  the  process  of 
ratiocination  is  referred  to  in  "Fleming's  Vocabulary  of 
Philosophy,"  page  334.  The  word  is  not  extensively  em- 
ployed in  psychological  writings.  Notwithstanding  this 
fact,  it  is  here  used  because  it  seems  best  suited  to  express 
in  one  comprehensive  unity  the  processes  of  conception, 
judgment,  inductive  and  deductive  reasoning,  as  activities 
of  recognizing  the  identity  of  a  particular  with  a  universal 
which  is  the  generic  aspect  of  the  particular.  In  "Angell's 
Psychology/'  page  218,  one  form  of  the  word  is  employed 
as  shown  by  the  following:  "Beyond  this  we  can  say  very 
little,  save  that  there  seems  some  reason  to  believe  that  all 
the  jnore  reflective  and  ratiocinative  forms  of  thought  pro- 
cess involve  in  an  important  way  the  action  of  the  Flechsig 
association  centers."  The  term  is  rarely  used  in  common 
speech  and  in  current  general  writings.  'In  this  respect,  it 
differs  distinctly  from  the  great  mass  of  terms  employed 
in  the  science  of  psychology.  Such  tern-s  as  desire,  mem- 
ory, conception,  distinction,  etc.,  belong  to  the  everyday 
speech  of  the  people,  in  all  ranks  of  life.  In  consequence 
of  the  lack  of  exactness  which  belongs  to  the  science  of 
psychology  as  compared  with  the  exactness  of  other  sciences, 
the  terms  in  psychology  are  mainly  those  of  common  usage, 
and  it  is  only  occasionally,  in  order  to  express  definite  dis- 
tinctions as  they  arise,  that  strange  terms  which  are  held 
to  be  especially  suitable,  are  employed.  There  is  not  that 
elaborate  development  of  technical  scientific  terms  which 
is  found  in  the  definitely  organized  sciences.  This  may  be 
clearly  realized  by  examining  any  set  of  terms  used  in  a 


170  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

closely  organized  science  to  express  the  closely  discriminated 
distictions  that  belong  to  its  subject-matter.* 

The  first  stage  of  ratiocination  is  conceiving. 

In  its  beginning  in  any  given  case,  conceiving  is  a  contin- 
uation of  the  highest  stage  of  classifying.  The  organizing 
attribute  of  the  object,  which  in  classification  is  regarded 
as  merely  common  to  all  aspects  of  the  object,  is,  in  concep- 
tion, discovered  to  be  genetic. 

In  the  second  stage  of  conceiving  the  mind  attends  to  the 
particulars  or  distinctions  produced  by  the  creative  activity. 

The  third  stage  of  conceiving  is  one  in  which  the  self  be- 
comes aware  indistinctly  that  each  particular  is  genetic. 
The  energy  of  the  object  is  now  observed  to  be  creative  of 
all  the  distinctions  in  the  object.  The  universal  and  the 
particular  are,  in  this  stage  of  conception,  identified. 

The  second  stage  of  ratiocination,  namely  judging,  is  the 
mind's  process  of  apprehending  indistinctly  the  particular, 
i.  e.,  the  object;  of  isolating  and  knowing  clearly  the  univer- 
sal, i.  e.,  the  isolated  attribute,  of  ceasing  to  regard  the  at- 
tribute as  isolated  and  noting  distinctly  its  unity  with  the 
other  aspects  of  the  object. 

Reasoning,  the  third  stage,  renders  explicit  the  develop- 
ment of  the  identity  expressed  by  the  copula. 

One  reason  that  students  have  difficulty  in  comprehend- 
ing the  process  of  judging  and  of  reasoning  is  that  their 
first  approach  to  each  of  these  processes  is  usually  logical 
*  FUNGI. 

Series  I. 

Class  1.    Phycomycetes— The  alga-like  fungi. 
Sub-class  I.    Oomycetes . 

Order  1.     Chytridineae.     On  algae,  etc. 

Order  2.     Saprolegniineae.      Water  moulds.    Those  grow- 
ing on  seedlings.     Those  growing  on  insects. 
Order  3.     Peronosporineae.     White  rusts. 
Sub-class  II.     Zygomycetes. 

Order  1.     Mucorineae.     The  red  mould,  etc. 

Order  2.    Entomophthorineae.   Insect  parasitic  fungi,  etc. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  171 

rather  than  psychological.  In  regard  to  the  judgment  it  is 
often  said  that  consciousness  being  possessed  of  two  ideas, 
one  universal  and  the  other  particular,  identifies  them  or 
discriminates  them,  thus  producing  the  judgment  or  propo- 
sition. This  is  a  mechanical  explanation  and  removes  judg- 
ment from  the  realm  of  actual  psychological  processes  of 
discovering  truth  in  actual  objects.  Judging  begins  in  the 
construction  of  the  idea  of  a  single  object  whether  general 
or  particular.  In  the  examination  of  this  object  the  self  ab- 
stracts or  isolates  an  attribute  (or  the  absence  of  the  at- 
tribute) and  then  identifies  it  with  the  object.  In  the  first 
case  the  sentence  would  express  identity.  In  the  second  the 
direct  expression  is  that  of  non-identity,  although  in  reality 
the  judgment  is  always  the  discovery  of  identity.  The  judg- 
ment thus  expressed  is  called  a  proposition. 

Reasoning  has  often  received  the  same  mechanical  ex- 
planation as  that  referred  to  concerning  the  judgment.  Rea- 
soning is  said  to  be  a  connection  of  propositions.  One  who 
reasons  is  supposed  to  have  in  consciousness  two  propo- 
sitions, and  to  deduce  from  these  a  third  proposition.  This 
explanation  is  based  upon  the  notions  of  formal  logic  and 
not  upon  the  nature  of  the  psychological  process  of  reason- 
ing. The  logical  process  is  a  generalization  based  upon  the 
psychological  process.  In  the  psychological  process  of  rea- 
soning the  mind  is  concerned  with  a  single  object  and  is 
making  a  real  examination  of  it  in  order  to  discover  some 
fact  concerning  it — a  fact  not  immediately  accessible.  The 
first  process  is  that  of  judging.  That  is,  the  mind  constructs 
the  idea  of  the  object  as  a  whole;  then,  as  a  result  of  con- 
tinued contemplation  of  the  object,  it  abstracts  or  isolates 
an  attribute,  and  then  identifies  this  attribute  with  the  ob- 
ject and  its  class,  or  with  the  object  through  its  class.  The 
self  does  not,  however,  have  in  consciousness  a  judgment' 
concerning  the  object  and  a  judgment  relating  to  the  class 


172  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

and  then  deduce  a  third  judgment  termed  the  conclusion. 
The  truth  it  discovers  as  to  the  class  belongs  to  the  process 
of  reacting  similar  past  experience  common  to  all  processes 
of  knowing.  There  is  no  attention  to  a  class  until  the  neces- 
sity for  its  consideration  arises  in  the  direct  examination  of 
the  object.  It  is  a  great  aid  in  obtaining  a  knowledge  of 
reasoning  to  note  that  the  mind  always  spontaneously  re- 
gards each  object  old  or  new  as  one  of  a  class.  The  reason 
for  this  is  that  each  object  of  its  entire  past  experience  has 
been  found  to  belong  to  a  class.  In  reasoning  there  occurs 
a  judgment,  and  then  the  process  of  discovering  the  ground 
for  the  identity.  There  are  three  stages  in  this  process. 

The  first  is  termed  identification.  In  identification  the 
minds  apprehends  indistinctly  the  relation  to  the  class  which 
is  the  ground  for  asserting  identity.  This  indistinctness  is 
the  basis  of  the  inaccuracy  so  frequent  in  this  stage.  Rea- 
soning always  involves  the  particular,  the  general  or  class 
and  the  universal.  The  mind  in  identifying  unifies  the  par- 
ticular with  the  class  because  it  has  discovered  in  the  par- 
ticular an  attribute  (the  universal)  which  it  is  aware  be- 
longs to  the  class.  This  attribute  may,  however,  belong  to 
another  class,  and  may  thus  g've  rise  to  an  incorrect  conclu- 
sion, somewhat  as  follows:  In  examining  a  word,  as  red, 
the  characteristic  expressing  an  attribute  may  be  isolated 
and  then  identified  with  the  word.  This  completes  the  judg- 
ment. Based  upon  past  experience,  the  characteristic — ex- 
pressing an  attribute — may  be  identified  with  the  class,  at- 
tributive verbs.  The  word,  red,  may  then  be  identified  with 
the  class  attributive  verbs.  The  defect  in  the  process  is  lack 
of  distinction  or  differentiation  in  knowing  fully  the  isolated 
attribute.  The  characteristic  which  has  been  abstracted  has 
three  elements,  but  one  only  is  noticed  in  the  given  case. 
The  act  involves,  expressing  an  attribute,  of  an  object,  with- 
out asserting  it. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  173 

The  psychological  process  is — 

Becoming  conscious  of  the  word,red,  as  a  whole. 
Isolating  the  characteristic  expressing  an  attribute 
of  an  object  without  asserting  it;  but  observing  only  the 
element,  expressing  an  attribute. 

Unifying  the  isolated  attribute  with  the  object 
(the  word  red}. 

Identifying  the  isolated  attribute  with  the  class, 
attributive  verbs. 

Identifying  the  word,  red,  and  the  class  attribu- 
tive verbs  on  tho  ground  of  their  unity  in  expressing  an  at- 
tribute. 

The  syllogism  in  the  logical  process  is — 

The  word,  red,  expresses  an  attribute. 
Attributive  verbs  express  attributes. 
The  word,  red,  is  an  attributive  verb. 
It  is  to  be  noticed  that  the  middle  term  is  the  universal, 
and  that  it  is  expressed  in  the  predicate  of  the  major  and  of 
the  minor  premise. 

This  stage  of  reasoning  is  that  of  fused  unity.  It  resem- 
bles the  potential  stage  in  the  mind's  activity. 

The  second  stage  in  reasoning  is  known  as  induction.  It 
is  the  separative  aspect  of  reasoning.  It  is  the  stage  of  dis- 
tinction, although  the  final  result  is  synthesis.  The  char- 
acteristic element  in  induction  is  the  isolating  or  discover- 
ing of  the  distinguishing  attribute  of  the  class.  Therefore, 
the  result  is  both  synthetic  and  analytic.  The  objects  of 
the  class  are  unified  on  the  basis  of  the  central  attribute  and 
the  class  is  separated  from  the  other  classes  on  the  same 
basis. 

In  induction  there  is  always  a  particular  object  to  be  in- 
vestigated. Let  it  be  assumed  that  the  object  is  the  word, 
red,  as  found  in  the  sentence,  "The  leaf  is  red,"  and  that  it 
is  the  first  lesson  in  thinking  the  nature  of  the  adjective. 


174  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

It  is  also  to  be  assumed  that  the  pupil  does  not  know  the 
name  of  the  class  or  that  there  is  a  class.  While  it  is  not  a 
new  word,  it  is  practically  new  so  far  as  its  definite  meaning 
is  concerned.  Many  objects  exist  thus  to  the  pupil,  and 
even  to  the  mature  scholar. 

The  psychological  process  in  induction  with  the  word  red 
as  its  object  is:  The  pupil's  mind  attends  to  the  word  as  a 
whole ;  abstracts  the  characteristic  expressing  an  attribute 
of  an  object  without  asserting  it;  judges  or  rather  assumes 
the  object  to  belong  to  a  class;  gives  consideration  to  (ab- 
stracts) the  creative  activity  which  produced  the  words 
of  the  class;  judges  it  to  be  uniform  in  its  process;  infers 
that  all  the  words  of  the  class  possess  this  characteristic — 
expressing  an  attribute  of  an  object  without  asserting  it. 
This  is  essentially  the  mind's  process  in  inductive  reason- 
ing, and  as  a  mere  process  is  as  clearly  revealed  with  one  ob- 
ject as  it  would  be  with  many.  In  order,  however,  to  insure 
validity  to  the  result,  there  must  be  an  investigation  of 
many  objects. 

The  syllogism  of  the  logical  process  is — 

The  creative  activity  of  a  class  is  uniform  in  its 
process. 

The  creative  activity  produced  this  object  (the 
word  red,)  with  the  characteristic — expressing  an  attribute 
of  an  object  without  asserting  it. 

All  objects  of  the  class  possess  that  characteristic. 

This  equips  the  mind  of  the  pupil  with  a  general  prin- 
ciple, called  in  logic  the  major  premise. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  attribute  abstracted  is 
actually  found  to  be  present.  It  is  also  to  be  observed 
that  the  subjects  in  the  first  and  second  propositions  are  the 
same,  while  in  the  identification  the  predicates  were  the 
same.  Induction  begins  by  discovering  an  attribute  in  a  sin- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  175 

gle  object  and  ends  by  asserting  that  attribute  of  the  whole 
class. 

The  third  stage  in  reasoning  is  deduction.  It  resembles 
the  third  stage  in  the  process  of  consciousness.  It  is  syn- 
thetic in  that  it  unifies  an  attribute  with  a  single  object, 
but  the  result  is  to  distinguish  the  object.  That  is,  it  ter- 
minates in  analysis  or  separation. 

The  psychological  process  in  deduction  is  as  f ollows : 

The  learner  attends  to  some  object  as  a  whole,  as, 
to  the  word,  red,  in  the  sentence,  ' '  The  red  sandstone  is  ex- 
pensive. ' ' 

He  inquires  whether  the  word,  red,  limits  the  ap- 
plication of  the  word,  sandstone,  or  whether  it  merely  em- 
phasizes an  attribute  belonging  to  the  object  named  by  that 
word.  This  is  the  act  of  abstracting  the  attribute  limiting 
and  inquiring  whether  the  word,red,  possesses  it  in  this 
special  case.  The  second  step  in  deduction  is  always,  sub- 
stantially, of  this  form. 

He  then  classes  the  word,  red,  on  the  basis  of  an 
attribute  which  is  different  from  the  one  inquired  for.  This 
second  attribute  is  one  that  is  observed  to  be  present.  In 
this  case  the  characteristic  on  the  basis  of  which  the  word  is 
classed  is  expressing  a  quality  (color)  which  is  variously 
manifested  by  the  object  denoted  by  the  substantive. 

He  then  analyzes  the  class.  In  this  analysis  the 
class  is  found  to  consist  of  words  which  express  an  attribute 
of  an  object ;  the  attribute  is  found  to  be  one  which  appears 
in  various  forms  in  the  object;  the  word  is  seen  to  express 
one  form  of  the  attribute  only  and  therefore  to  limit. 

He  knows  that  the  words  of  the  class  limit,  because 
his  analysis  has  shown  limiting  to  be  one  of  the  characteris- 
tics of  the  class. 

He  infers  that  the  word,  red,  limits  the  application 
of  the  word,  sandstone,  because  it  was  found  to  belong  to 


176  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

the  class  expressing  a  quality   (color)   which  is  variously 
manifested. 

The  syllogism  of  the  logical  process  is — 

All  adjectives  expressing  attributes  belonging  to 
only  a  part  of  a  class  are  limiting. 

The  word  red  is  an  adjective,  expressing  an  at- 
tribute belonging  to  only  a  part  of  the  objects  expressed  by 
the  word,  sandstone. 

The  word,  red,  possesses  the  attribute  of  limiting 
the  application  of  the  word,  sandstone,  in  the  sentence, 
' '  The  red  sandstone  is  expensive. ' ' 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  attribute  isolated  is  not 
directly  known  to  be  present  as  is  always  the  case  in  in- 
duction. In  deduction  the  attribute  isolated,  i.  e.,  thought 
of,  is  not  directly  accessible.  The  mind  gives  attention  to 
the  attribute  and  inquires  whether  it  is  possessed  by  the  ob- 
ject. Sometimes  the  person  in  the  process  of  deduction  cen- 
ters attention  upon  the  fact  that  the  object  has  a  cause,  a 
use,  an  effect,  a  relation  of  likeness  or  difference,  and  in- 
quires, not  whether  it  has  the  function,  etc.,  but  what  the 
function  or  relation  is. 

It  is  to  be  further  noticed  that  the  subject  of  the  major 
premise  is  the  predicate  of  the  minor  premise.  While  the 
truth  discovered  in  induction  is  based  on  uniformity  in  the 
creative  process  and  is  given  a  general  application,  the  truth 
discovered  in  deduction  is  based  on  the  uniformity  of  the 
essential  class  attributes  produced  by  the  creative  activity, 
and  is  given  a  particular  application.  This  indicates  that 
there  is  no  "inductive  method."  Induction  is  only  one 
stage  of  a  process.  Deduction  is  the  other.  Induction,  be- 
ginning with  a  single  object,  discovers  a  general  truth.  De- 
duction, beginning  with  the  general  truth,  discovers  that  the 
general  truth  belongs  to  a  certain  particular  object.  The 
growth  of  knowledge  is  not  ' '  from  the  particular  to  the  gen- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  177 

eral"  but  from  the  particular,  through  the  general  to  a  par- 
ticular, which  is  enriched  to  the  mind  by  the  discovery  that 
it  (the  particular)  possesses  the  general. 

Analysis  of  the  Process  in  Knowing. 

The  special  stages  in  the  process  of  subjectifying  or  know- 
ing are  here  to  be  reconsidered  briefly,  in  order  to  illustrate 
them  somewhat  more  fully,  as  a  basis  for  the  interpretation 
of  lessons  taught  in  the  various  grades: 

I.     Presentation. 

The  characteristic  of  presentation  is  that  the  self, 
in  an  act  of  sense-perception,  regards  the  object  denoted  by 
the  image  to  be  particular,  present  in  space  now,  and  to  be 
entirely  different  from  the  knower.  This  is  expressed  in 
Dewey's  Psychology,  page  159. 

1.  Sense-perception.  In  an  act  of  sense-perception 
there  are,  on  the  one  hand,  a  present  object  or  stimulus,  as 
a  postage  stamp,  and  on  the  other  hand,  the  mind's  act  of 
sense-perceiving  which  involves  the  creation  of  the  image, 
the  reacting  of  similar  past  experience,  the  relating  of  the 
present  image  and  the  past  experience,  and  the  judgment 
that  the  present  image  signifies  a  postage  stamp  present 
now. 

This  entire  mental  process  is  practically  sub-conscious. 
The  only  thing  the  mind  seems  to  be  conscious  of  is  the  ob- 
ject itself.  The  mind  ignores  the  fact  that  it  has  created 
the  image  of  the  object  and  has  obtained  the  meaning  of 
the  image  by  adjusting  its  past  experience  to  the  image.. 
It  is  engrossed  with  the  meaning,  i.  e.,  with  the  object.  It 
does  not  discover  its  own  nature  or  process  in  the  object,  al- 
though it  is  just  its  own  process  which  constitutes  the  es- 
sence of  the  object.  The  postage  stamp  is  the  objectificationi 
of  the  process  of  the  self.  It  came  into  being  through  the? 


178  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

fact  that  the  self  became  aware  of  some  defect,  idealized  a 
new  condition,  desired  the  new  condition,  chose  it,  thought 
out  the  means,  etc.  All  this  process  underlies  the  produc- 
tion of  any  human  product,  and  a  similar  process  in  the 
mind  of  the  Infinite  is  at  the  basis  of  the  productions  of  the 
objects  of  nature.  The  self  is,  in  this  sense,  the  essence  of 
each  object.  The  characteristic  of  sense-perception  is  that 
this  unity  of  the  object  with  mind  itself  and  hence  with  the 
mind  of  the  one  who  is  perceiving  it  is  not  known.  The  ob- 
ject is  regarded  as  a  particular  existence  present  in  space, 
and  the  fact  that  it  has  an  essential  unity  with  the  mind 
of  the  one  who  is  knowing  it  is  not  even  considered. 

Sensing.  The  first  stage  in  sense-perception — sensing — 
is  a  general  process  in  that  the  person  is  sensing  at  any 
given  instant  all  elements  of  his  environment.  He  senses 
or  is  dimly  conscious,  for  example,  of  the  blackboards,  of 
the  wall  paper  above,  of  the  light  entering  from  the  east, 
of  the  open  door  at  the  west,  of  the  chandeliers,  of  the 
benches,  of  the  students  in  the  class,  of  the  desk,  of  the  dic- 
tionary upon  it,  of  the  postage  stamp  lying  upon  the  dic- 
tionary, of  the  breeze,  of  his  own  position,  of  the  sounds  of 
the  hammer,  of  the  murmur  of  distant  voices,  etc.  The 
mind  in  a  sub-conscious  way  constructs  a  sensation  for  each 
of  these  objects,  practically  simultaneously,  and  by  adjust- 
ing its  past  experience  to  each  sensation,  indistinctly  in- 
terprets it.  This  is  the  initial  stage  for  many  acts  of  per- 
ception, but  it  is  too  fused  and  general  to  be  termed  per- 
ception. Sensing  is  a  condition  in  which  many  acts  of  per- 
ception are  merely  potential.  The  attitude  of  the  pei 
to  his  environment  is  that  of  indistinctness  or  undifferen- 
tiation.  There  may  be,  also,  a  special  sensing,  as  of  a  sin- 
gle quality.  It  would  be  helpful  to  the  student  to  trace 
full  circuit  of  this. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 


179 


Perceiving.  The  transition  may  be  made,  however,  from 
sensing  to  perception  at  any  instant.  For  example,  the 
sensation  which  the  mind  has  created  in  response  to  the 
postage  stamp  as  a  stimulus,  may  develop  into  the  percep- 
tion of  the  stamp.  The  perception  would  begin  in  the  con- 
centration of  the  attention  upon  that  object.  This  is  a 
separative  process.  It  isolates  the  object  from  the  world 
of  objects  and  it  separates  the  perceiving  mind  from  the 
undifferentiated  condition  of  sensation,  and  from  its  con- 
dition in  any  other  special  act.  The  initial  result  is  an  in- 
distinct image  of  the  object  as  a  whole. 

This  is  the  mere  beginning  of  perception,  however.  The 
process  continues  by  further  isolations.  For  example,  the 
face  of  Washington  with  its  surrounding  frame  is  dis- 
tinctly isolated  and  imaged.  This  occurs  also  with  regard 
to  the  four  stars  in  their  exact  location,  with  regard  to  the 
figure  "  2 "  and  its  surrounding  wreath,  with  regard  to  the 
round  corners  below  and  the  pointed  corners  above,  etc. 
The  creation  of  a  distinct  image  in  each  of  these  cases  stim- 
ulates the  reproduction  of  appropriate  past  experience,  the 
adjustment  of  this  past  experience,  and  the  judgment  as 
to  meaning.  The  act  of  perception  is,  therefore,  a  series  of 
acts  of  knowing.  One  by  one  the  parts  and  attributes  are 
distinctly  attended  to  and  thus  clearly  imaged.  As  each 
part  or  attribute  is  imaged,  the  image  is  interpreted,  and 
its  meaning  unified  with  the  meaning  as  a  whole.  All  of 
the  images  successively  constructed  fuse  into  a  distinct 
image  of  the  one  complex  object.  The  image  is  always  in- 
terpreted to  signify  a  particular  object,  present  now,  and 
different  from  the  self. 

Apperceiving  The  definite  particular  created  in  percep- 
tion, is  not  left  isolated.  It  is,  through  the  mind's  ten- 
dency toward  unification,  classed  with  its  kindred  ideas, 
just  as  a  geologist,  upon  obtaining  a  new  specimen,  places 


180  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

it  with  its  own  kind.  In  the  example  given,  the  mind  would 
apperceive  by  ordering  the  idea  of  the  two-cent  stamp 
with  such  ideas  as  those  of  postoffice,  mail  car,  letter  car- 
rier, special  delivery  stamp,  etc.  Apperceiving  is  ordering 
or  modifying  a  given  set  of  tendencies  or  ideas  by  unifying 
with  them  a  kindred  idea.  This  idea  modifies  the  estab- 
lished ideas  and  they  in  turn  modify  it.  The  conclusion  of 
sense-perception,  then,  is  the  classing  or  ordering  of  the 
newly  constructed  idea.  This  is  done  to  a  certain  extent 
sub-consciously,  but  in  the  process  of  education  the  learner 
should  be  made  distinctly  conscious  of  the  relation.  It 
would  be  of  great  advantage  to  work  out,  at  this  stage,  the 
neural  basis  of  sense-perception,  as  an  aid  in  understand- 
ing both  the  process  and  the  pedagogical  principles  derived 
from  it. 

Among  the  pedagogical  principles  implicit  in  the  process 
of  sense-perception,  the  following  may  be  mentioned : 

An  object  to  be  sense-perceived  must  first  be  presented  as 
a  whole  to  the  learner's  mind  without  calling  attention  to 
its  various  parts  and  attributes. 

The  ideas,  feelings,  etc.,  that  are  already  in  consciousness 
when  one  is  beginning  to  perceive  should  be  harmonious 
with  the  object  to  be  perceived,  because  the  learner  is  prone 
to  perceive  the  object  corresponding  to  his  existing  mental 
state,  whether  it  is  present  or  not. 

The  sense-perception  should,  in  the  second  place,  become 
analytic,  because  while  the  object  is  at  first  perceived  as 
"single  and  distinct,"  it  is  merely  distinct  from  other  ob- 
jects. This  analysis  should  be  accurate,  because  the  ideas 
are  to  be  the  basis  of  future  acts. 

The  process  should,  in  the  third  place,  be  made  appercep- 
tive,  that  is,  the  idea  should  be  identified  with  the  other 
ideas  of  this  class.  For  example,  as  suggested  above,  the 
idea  of  postage  stamp  should  be  identified  or  classed  with 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  181 

ideas  of  the  postal  service,  as,  with  the  idea  of  letter  box, 
etc. 

II.    Representation. 

The  term  representation  denotes  the  mind's  act 
of  reproducing  some  former  particular  experience  con- 
sciously. It  does  not,  as  here  employed,  indicate  that  sub- 
conscious employment  of  former  experiences  which  is  a 
characteristic  of  all  forms  of  knowing.  An  act  of  represen- 
tation involves  the  recreation  of  a  former  mental  image  by 
the  self  and  the  interpretation  of  this  image  to  signify  a 
particular  object,  not  now  present,  other  than,  or  alien  to 
the  self.  All  this  mentioned  is  consciously  known.  The 
case  may  be  one  in  which  the  self  is  aware  that  the  object 
being  represented  has  been  present  before,  or  it  may  be  a 
case  in  which  the  mind  knows,  that,  in  its  present  condi- 
tion, the  object  has  never  been  present.  The  act  of  rep- 
resentation involves  the  unconscious  reproduction  of  past 
experience  in  order  to  interpret  its  present  image,  as  does 
sense-perception,  but,  in  the  main,  the  mind  is  conscious 
that  its  state  is  a  represented  state. 

It  seems  evident,  therefore,  that  the  characteristic  of 
representation  is  as  follows :  It  is  an  act  in  which  the  mind 
recreates  in  itself  a  particular  image,  and  by  relating  this 
to  already  acquired  experience,  interprets  it  to  signify  a 
particular  object,  other  than  the  self,  once  present  but  not 
now  present;  or  not  present  now,  and  not  at  any  time 
present  in  its  imagined  form.  The  object,  as  in  sense-per- 
ception, is  regarded  as  different  from  the  self,  or  rather  it 
is  tacitly  assumed  to  be  different  from  the  mind  knowing  it. 
The  separation  of  the  object  from  the  self  is  less  complete, 
however,  than  it  was  in  sense  perception.  In  representation 
the  self  is  distinctly  aware  of  the  image,  and  that  it  is  the 
image  of  an  absent  object.  This  gives  rise  to  a  certain 


182  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

feeling  of  identity.  An  image  which  constitutes  an  ele- 
ment of  the  self,  and  is  also  the  actual  image  of  the  object 
must,  therefore,  be  kindred  to  the  object.  Thus,  the  mind 
is  aware  of  a  superficial  identity  between  it  and  the  object. 
It  does  not,  yet,  however,  discover  that  its  own  process  is 
the  essential  nature  of  the  object. 

It  will  appear  from  the  foregoing  that  the  mind  in  repre- 
sentation manifests  itself  in  three  forms — memory,  the 
more  simple  and  the  more  strictly  reproductive;  imagina- 
tion, the  more  complex  and  the  more  creative ;  and  the  lan- 
guage act,  which  involves  the  previous  processes  and  is  also 
a  transition  to  thought. 

1.     Memory. 

The  act  of  memory  exhibits  three  stages — spontaneous, 
voluntary  and  systematic. 

Spontaneous  memory. 

The  characteristic  of  spontaneous  memory  is  the  lack  of 
intention,  and  of  consciousness  in  the  process.  All  of  the 
four  movements  are  put  forth  by  the  mind  automatically, 
and  throughout  the  first  three  movements,  i.  e.,  throughout 
the  re-creation  of  the  image,  the  re-acting  of  similar  past 
experience,  and  the  process  of  comparing  and  contrasting 
the  present  image  with  the  ideas  of  the  past,  there  is,  prac- 
tically the  absence  of  consciousness. 

In  the  fourth  movement,  however,  namely,  in  the  infer- 
ence, consciousness  is  present. 

The  process  in  an  act  of  memory  includes,  as  just  indi- 
cated, the  re-creation  of  the  image,  which  becomes  thus,  the 
memory  image;  the  reproduction  of  similar  past  experi- 
ences, the  relating  of  the  memory-image  to  this  past  experi- 
ence, and  the  inference  that  the  memory  image  denotes  a 
particular  object,  as  the  leather  back  of  a  book,  observed 
at  a  given  time  and  place  with  certain  environments.  The 
object  is  assumed  to  be  different  from  the  observer,  but  not 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  183 

so  completely,  as  is  the  case  in  sense-perception.  A  super- 
ficial identity  of  the  knower  and  the  object  being  remem- 
bered is  indistinctly  felt,  since  the  image — an  element  of 
the  self — is  the  image  of  the  object. 

The  first  step  in  the  process  is  that  of  creating  the  memory 
image.  This  begins  in  the  production  of  what  may  be 
called  the  initial  element  of  the  memory  image.  This  initial 
element  must  be  an  element  of  a  present  mental  act,  and  it 
must  have  been  an  element  in  the  former  experience.  There- 
fore when  this  element  is  produced  by  the  self,  the  mind 
has  really  entered  upon  the  former  act.  In  the  former 
act  of  sense-perception,  for  example,  there  may  have  been 
in  the  image  an  element  appropriate  to  the  curve  of  the 
leather  on  the  back  of  the  book.  In  the  present  act  of  sense- 
perceiving  a  dry,  crooked,  tapering  branch  of  a  tree  in  a 
forest,  there  is  in  the  image  constructed  by  the  mind  a 
similar  element  denoting  the  curved  surface  of  the  branch. 

This  element  is  the  initial  element  of  the  memory  image. 
Its  presence  is  due  to  the  stimulus  in  the  object  and  to  the 
self-activity  of  the  mind.  Having  produced  this  element  in 
itself,  the  mind  is,  to  a  degree,  existing  in  the  former  act. 

What  are  the  other  elements  of  the  former  image,  and 
what  occasions  their  reproduction?  The  other  elements 
may  be  assumed  to  be  the  element  denoting  the  material, 
leather,  the  element  denoting  the  length  of  the  leather,  that 
denoting  the  width  of  the  leather,  that  denoting  the  place  of 
the  object,  that  denoting  the  time  of  the  observation,  that 
denoting  other  persons  present,  etc.  What  stimulates  the 
mind  to  react  these  elements,  which,  with  the  initial  element, 
constitute  the  complete  memory-image?  The  stimulus  is 
not  an  extra-organic  stimulus,  but  rather  an  Internal  one, 
viz.,  the  tendency  of  the  mind  to  complete  any  activity  it 
has  reentered.  But  the  question  may  arise,  "Why  did  the 
mind  re-enter  just  this  former  act,  when,  no  doubt,  the  ini- 


184  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

tial  element  was  the  beginning  of  many  former  acts  ? ' '  This 
is  answered  by  reference  to  subordinate  laws  of  association 
as  determined  by  recentness,  repetition,  novelty,  and  rela- 
tive interest. 

When  the  mind  has  thus  fully  reconstructed  the  memory 
image  it  has  not,  as  is  often  supposed,  completed  the  act  of 
memory.  To  complete  the  act  of  remembering  requires 
three  additional  movements  or  mental  conditions.  The  first 
of  these  is  the  process  of  reproducing  former  experiences, 
as,  for  example,  experiences  at  various  times  and  places  in 
the  past  in  which  the  mind  has  become  aware  of  leather 
as  belonging  to  the  binding  of  books. 

The  second  is  an  activity  of  relating.  The  mind  carefully 
compares  and  contrasts  the  present  memory-image  with  the 
reproduced  experiences,  one  by  one,  and  finally  identifies 
it  with  a  certain  one  of  them.  This  identifying  is  of  the 
nature  of  an  inference.  On  the  basis  of  the  process  of  re- 
lating and  the  feeling  of  similarity,  the  mind  interprets  the 
memory-image  to  signify  a  particular  piece  of  leather  ob- 
served at  a  certain  time,  under  definite  circumstances,  but 
not  present  now.  The  object  remembered  is  always  as- 
sumed, tacitly,  to  be  other  than  the  self.  That  is,  the  self 
does  not,  as  yet,  discover  the  object  to  be  merely  an  objectifi- 
cation  of  its  own  process,  although  it  is  aware  of  a  super- 
ficial identity  between  itself  and  the  object  because  its 
image  is  the  image  of  the  object. 

This  form  of  memory — spontaneous — corresponds  with 
the  first  stage  of  the  law  of  consciousness,  since  it  is  so 
fully  marked  by  unconsciousness,  by  lack  of  differentiation. 

Voluntary  memory. 

This  second  form  of  memory  is  separative,  manifest- 
ing thus  the  second  stage  in  the  law  of  the  mind.  It  is 
based  upon  the  negative  aspect  of  memory — forgetting — 
and  is  intended  to  negative  the  negation. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  185 

Voluntary  memory  arises  because  some  act  of  spon- 
taneous memory  is  incomplete.  The  first  movement  is  to 
become  aware  of  the  lacking  element.  For  example,  the 
element  in  the  memory-image  signifying  the  color  of  the 
leather  on  the  back  of  the  book  may  not  have  been  re-acted. 

The  second  stage  is  to  construct  in  consciousness  the  pur- 
pose to  react  the  lacking  element,  or,  using  objective  terms, 
to  become  aware  clearly  of  the  color  of  the  leather.  It  is 
the  existence  of  this  purpose  which  constitutes  the  volun- 
tary aspect  of  the  act  of  remembering.  This  form  of  mem- 
ory is  often  termed  recollection. 

The  third  stage  in  voluntary  memory  is  the  act  of  judg- 
ing or  deciding  upon  the  set  of  objects  which  are  adapted 
to  stimulate  mental  images  which  may  initiate  the  spon- 
taneous re-acting  of  the  sought-for  mental  state.  For  ex- 
ample, the  mind  may  judge  that  its  attention  should  be 
concentrated  on  leather  as  to  its  natural  color,  on  leather 
as  possessing  other  colors  as  revealed  by  past  experience, 
especially  on  leather  as  used  in  the  manufacture  of  book 
covers. 

This  third  stage  merges  immediately  into  a  fourth  as- 
pect which  is  the  mental  reconstruction  of  these  various 
objects  with  their  various  colors.  Among  these  ideas  which 
have  been  re-acted  is  the  one  signifying  the  color  which 
had  not  been  remembered,  or  one  so  similar  to  the  idea 
of  the  sought-for  color  that  under  the  stimulus  of  it  the 
mind  spontaneously  reproduces  the  particular  mental  ele- 
ment denoting  the  color,  of  which  color  the  mind  was, 
without  effort,  unable  to  become  conscious.  The  act  of 
voluntary  memory  is,  however,  incomplete  until  this  men- 
tal state  is  recognized  as  the  desired  one,  or  in  objective 
terms,  until  the  color,  now  reproduced  in  consciousness  is 
recognized  as  the  one  which  was  upon  the  leather.  This 
mental  act  of  recognition  is  due,  probably,  to  the  feeling  of 


186  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

familiarity  as  arising  from  the  similarity  of  both  the  idea 
and  its  neural  basis  to  these  two  forms  of  re-action  in  the 
former  experience.  The  process  of  recollecting  a  name 
would  involve  a  process  consisting  of  the  same  stages. 

Systematic  memory. 

The  third  form  of  memory  may  be  termed  systematic. 
It  involves  a  distinct  preparation  at  the  time  of  learning 
the  object.  The  person  who  is  becoming  acquainted  with  an 
object  or  event  has,  it  is  to  be  assumed,  special  reasons  for 
desiring  to  be  able  to  reproduce,  with  facility,  the  idea 
of  the  object  or  event  at  any  future  time  when  it  is  needed. 
He,  therefore,  plans  to  learn  it  in  the  way  that  will  give 
him  most  power  in  reproducing  the  idea  of  it.  The  most 
economical  mode  of  doing  this  is  to  relate  the  object  being 
learned  to  objects  whose  corresponding  mental  states  are 
habits  in  the  life  of  the  learner.  For  example,  if  the 
learner  is  a  minister,  the  objects  for  which  he  has  habitual 
corresponding  psychical  activities  are  his  parsonage,  his 
church  building,  the  hymnal  of  his  church,  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  Paul's  journey  to  Damascus,  etc.  In  case  he  should 
relate  the  new  object  to  one  or  more  of  these  familiar  ob- 
jects, it  would,  in  future  be  necessary  only  to  react  volun- 
tarily the  idea  appropriate  to  the  familiar  object  to  stim- 
ulate the  spontaneous  reproduction  of  the  idea  of  the  new 
object. 

The  central  fact  in  the  preparation  is  that  the  ob- 
ject being  learned  is  to  be  related  with  objects  whose 
mental  representatives  have  become  habitual  in  the  life 
of  the  learner.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  act  of 
relating  in  the  case  of  any  person  would  reveal  features 
peculiar  to  him,  and  also  features  common  to  him  and 
others. 

The  individual  should  relate  the  new  object  to  fa- 
miliar objects  under  one  or  more  of  the  relations  given  in 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

t 

n 

m 

r 

1 

sh 

g 

f 

b 

d 

j 

k 

V 

P 

ch 

c 

THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  187 

the  following  descending  grade:  To  familiar  objects  as  to 
their  purpose;  cause  and  effect;  likeness  and  difference; 
time  and  place;  or  perhaps  to  a  familiar  artificial  system. 
This  last  is  referred  to  as  a  mnemonic  system  by  Angell  on 
page  201  of  his  work  in  psychology,  and  by  James  under 
ingenious  methods,  on  page  298  of  his  "Briefer  Course.'* 
The  latter  gives  as  a  common  figure  alphabet  the  following : 

o 
s 
c 
z 

g      q* 

In  this  alphabet  the  vowels  are  not  to  be  considered. 
Therefore,  if  one  wished  to  remember  1718  as  a  date  in 
history  or  as  a  street  number  he  could  relate  it  to  some 
such  expression  as  "To  go  to  fee."  It  may  help  the  stu- 
dent to  understand  the  relations  referred  to  above,  to  de- 
cide upon  the  relations  one  should  seek  to  establish  in  or- 
der to  gain  permanent  knowledge  of  "1718  Talbot  Ave- 
nue," as  a  street  address,  or  of  the  thoughts  of  the  "Com- 
pact on  the  Mayflower,"  in  their  order. 

All  this  is  merely  the  preparation  for  an  act  of  sys- 
tematic memory.  The  process  in  the  act  of  remembering 
is  now  to  be  noticed.  The  first  stage  is  that  of  reacting 
voluntarily  the  mental  elements  or  states  denoting  the  sys- 
tem of  objects  which  have  been  related  to  the  object  to  be 
remembered,  as,  for  example,  reacting  voluntarily  the  idea 
of  the  expression  "To  go  to  fee. ' ' 

The  second  stage  is  the  spontaneous  reacting  of  the 
idea  of  the  object  to  be  remembered,  as  the  idea  of  the 
number,  1718.  The  example  given  belongs  under  the  artifi- 
cial system  of  relations,  but  the  stages  are  the  same  when 
the  established  relations  are  inherent  in  the  object  to  be 
remembered. 


188  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

The  value  of  relating  the  new  object  to  objects  habitually 
considered  by  the  self  is  evident. 

In  what  respects  is  memory  more  fundamental  than 
sense-perception?  Range  of  consciousness  of  relations  is 
the  factor  which  determines  whether  one  mode  of  mental 
action  is  more  fundamental  than  another.  Mind  is  held  to 
be  "the  universal  substrate,"  and  whatever  form  of  men- 
tal activity  exhibits  most  of  the  self-activity  of  the  mind  is 
most  fundamental. 

With  this  as  a  criterion,  memory  appears  to  be  more 
fundamental  than  perception  in  these  respects :  It  involves 
a  more  extended  range  of  consciousness.  In  sense-percep- 
tion the  mind  has  constructed  an  image,  but  the  self  is 
unconscious  of  the  image,  the  attention  being  centered  upon 
the  external  object  only.  In  memory,  however,  the  mind  is 
distinctly  conscious  of  the  image  and  of  its  process  in  know- 
ing the  absent  object. 

Memory  is  more  fundamental  than  sense  perception,  also, 
in  the  fact  that  it  involves  a  more  complete  idea  of  the 
self.  Sense-perception  is  limited  to  the  immediate  present. 
It  involves  but  a  brief  portion  of  the  observer's  life.  In 
memory  the  individual  is  conscious  not  only  of  his  present, 
but  of  a  definite  past,  and  in  a  certain  sense  of  his  life 
during  the  intervening  period. 

Memory  is  also  more  fundamental  than  sense-perception 
in  that  in  an  act  of  memory  the  mind  ignores,  to  a  certain 
extent,  the  various  details  of  the  object  of  which  it  was 
distinctly  conscious  in  the  act  of  sense-perceiving.  This 
act  of  ignoring  the  details  in  the  object  is  a  more  advan- 
tageous basis  for  thought,  since  it  concentrates  attention 
upon  the  essential  nature  of  the  object  more  fully  than  is 
done  in  sense  perception. 

The  student  should  here  make  a  careful  study  of  the 
neural  basis  of  memory. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  189 

Among  the  pedagogical  principles  that  are  implicit  in 
the  act  of  memory  the  following  may  be  noted : 

The  mastery  of  an  object  involves  repetition,  a  repetition 
that  should  reveal  elements  of  differentiation.  That  is,  in 
re-studying  an  object,  or  the  material  of  a  lesson,  the  re- 
view should  vary  to  a  certain  extent  from  the  original 
work.  It  is  evident,  also,  that  the  ability  to  remember  an 
object  is  closely  related  to  the  interest  of  the  person  who  is 
engaged  in  the  act  of  knowing  the  object  in  the  beginning. 
Interest  is  the  basis  of  attention,  and  a  discriminative  at- 
tention insures  greater  efficiency  in  the  memory. 

The  third  principle  may  be  stated  as  follows :  The  child 
should  be  led  to  make  clearly  conscious  to  himself  the  ele- 
ment that  is  lacking  in  any  case  of  voluntary  memory.  In 
voluntary  memory  the  object  is  already  largely  known. 
Some  aspect  of  it,  however,  is  lacking  in  consciousness.  In 
enabling  the  child  to  re-know  this  aspect  of  the  object  he 
should  be  led  to  define  to  himself  exactly  the  element 
which  is  lacking. 

In  the  fourth  place,  the  child  who  is  preparing  to  re- 
member an  object  should  be  given  a  clear  knowledge  of 
closely  related  objects.  These  relations  should  also  be,  in 
so  far  as  possible,  essential  relations. 

In  the  fifth  place,  the  child  should  be  led  to  identify 
the  object  he  is  studying  with  other  objects  according  to  a 
certain  grade  of  relations.  If  necessary,  the  child  should 
identify  the  object  with  other  objects  by  means  of  certain 
aspects  of  an  artificial  system;  by  means  of  relations  of 
time  and  space;  through  relations  of  likeness  and  differ- 
ence; through  relations  of  cause  and  effect;  and  through 
relations  of  purpose. 

2.     Imagination. 

a.     Mechanical  imagination. 

There   are   two   kinds   of   mechanical   imagination^ 


190  THK  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

i.  e.,  the  modification  of  images  signifying  objects  present, 
and  the  modification  of  images  signifying  objects  absent. 

In  the  first  kind  the  mind  creates  the  sense-per- 
ception image  of  a  pencil,  which  is,  for  example,  a  paper 
pencil  with  certain  letters  on  the  outside,  and  a  blue  crayon 
point.  The  mind  then  changes  the  element  signifying  blue 
in  the  crayon  point,  and  produces  in  its  stead  the  element 
signifying  red  as  the  color  of  the  crayon  point.  It  con- 
tinues to  act  along  with  this,  all  the  other  elements  of  the 
sense-perception  image,  and  interprets  the  new  image,  which 
is  now  the  imagination  image,  to  signify  the  pencil  with  at- 
tributes indicated  as  not  present  now  and  never  present. 

In  the  second  kind  the  mind  constructs,  for  exam- 
ple, the  memory-image  of  a  particular  gold-handled  pen. 
In  creating  the  memory-image  the  mind  reconstructs  all  of 
the  elements  of  this  image  just  as  they  were.  The  mind 
then  constructs  instead  of  the  element  signifying  gold- 
handled,  the  element  signifying  pearl-handled,  retaining 
all  the  other  elements  of  the  memory-image  and  interpret- 
ing the  modified  image  to  signify  a  pearl-handled  pen  not 
present  and  never  present. 

b.     Reproductive  imagination. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  reproductive  or  separative 
imagination.  The  first  is  the  interpretation  of  the  image 
appropriate  to  words,  to  denote  objects  expressed  by  the 
words,  rather  than  the  words  themselves.  In  this  in- 
terpretation the  objects  are  felt  to  be  objects  never  ex- 
perienced in  that  exact  form. 

The  second  is  the  interpretation  of  images  appropri- 
ate to  pictures  or  to  the  mere  externalities  of  works  of  art, 
to  signify  the  objects  which  these  express.  These  objects 
are  known  as  objects  which  have  never  been  experienced. 

In  the  first  kind  take,  for  example,  these  words, 
"Through  the  black  smoke  of  the  city  rose  the  lofty  tower 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  191 

of  the  court  house."  As  the  mind  sense-perceives  the 
sound  of  these  words  it  interprets  the  auditory  image  ap- 
propriate to  the  words,  to  signify  the  object — a  tower  loom- 
ing up  through  the  smoke,  rather  than  the  words, ' '  Through 
the  black  smoke,"  etc.  One  element  of  the  activity  is  the 
consciousness  that  this  object  has  never  been  experienced. 

In  the  second  kind  take  the  example  of  a  photo- 
graph. As  the  mind  perceives  light  and  dark  shades  it  in- 
terprets the  image  of  these  to  signify  the  actual  body  of 
the  person,  the  actual  material  of  the  dress,  etc.,  as  objects 
never  experienced. 

c.     Creative  imagination. 

Creative  imagination  is  either  productive  or  inter- 
pretative. Its  range  is  much  greater  than  that  which  is 
included  under  the  process  of  creating  the  metaphor,  yet, 
since  this  process  is  typical,  creative  imagination  will  be 
explained  from  this  point  of  view. 

In  that  form  of  creative  imagination  which  is  termed 
productive,  the  mind  creates  the  ideal,  images  an  object  ap- 
propriate to  the  ideal,  and  judges  that  this  object  sym- 
bolizes the  ideal. 

There  are  three  forms  of  productive  imagination, 
i.  e.,  that  which  satisfies  the  aesthetic  interest,  that  which 
satisfies  the  intellectual  interest,  and  that  which  satisfies 
the  volitional  interest. 

The  creation  of  the  object  expressed  by  the  metaphor, 
and,  in  fact,  the  production  of  the  world  of  art  in  general, 
come  under  the  first  form. 

In  the  creation  of  the  idealized  object  symbolized  by 
the  metaphor,  the  mind  in  the  first  stage,  attends  to  some 
general  idea.  In  the  second  stage,  the  self  differentiates 
its  idea  of  the  general  into  two  aspects,  one  signifying  a 
sensuous  or  physical  object  and  the  other,  the  spiritual  ob- 
ject. Each  of  these  involves  the  general  of  which  the  mind 


192  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

is  conscious  in  the  first  stage.  In  the  third  stage  the  mind 
identifies  the  spiritual  object  with  the  physical  as  its  sym- 
bol. For  example,  in  the  first  stage,  the  mind  may  be  con- 
sidering the  general  object,  purity.  In  the  second  stage 
it  differentiates  its  idea  of  this  general  into  two  aspects, 
one  of  which  signifies  the  physical  object,  as  a  lily,  snowy 
white,  growing  in  a  quiet  valley ;  and  the  other  signifies  the 
spiritual  object,  a  soul  unstained  by  sin.  In  the  third  stage 
the  mind  identifies  the  physical  object,  the  lily  of  the  valley, 
with  the  spiritual  object,  the  unstained  soul,  as  its  symbol. 
Strictly  considered,  this  concludes  the  act  of  creative  imag- 
ination, but  the  imaginative  process  naturally  merges  into 
the  language  act,  and  the  mind  expresses  the  idealized  unity 
by  some  such  expression  as  "The  soul  is  the  lily  of  the 
valley." 

A  modification  of  this  process  is  that  in  which  the 
first  stage  is  a  consciousness  of  a  single  object  either  phy- 
sical or  spiritual,  but  usually  physical.  In  the  second  stage 
the  mind  retains  in  consciousness  the  idea  of  this  particu- 
lar object  and  constructs  in  contrast  with  it  the  image  of 
an  opposite,  but  kindred  object.  In  the  third  stage  the 
mind  identifies  the  physical  object  with  the  spiritual,  re- 
garding the  physical  as  symbol.  For  example,  the  mind 
may  be  conscious  of  a  lute  which  the  various  breezes  are 
playing.  In  the  second  stage  the  mind  continues  to  be 
conscious  of  this  object,  and  creates  in  contrast  with  it  the 
image  of  a  spiritual  object,  i.  e.,  the  soul,  stirred,  sometimes, 
by  the  passing  whims  of  fashion  into  discord,  and  soothed, 
at  times,  by  deeds  of  philanthropy.  In  the  third  stage,  the 
mind  identifies  the  physical  object — the  lute — with  the 
spiritual  object,  the  soul,  regarding  the  physical  as  its 
symbol.  By  the  language  act  the  mind  may  express  the 
idealized  unity  somewhat  as  follows :  ' '  The  soul  is  the  lute 
upon  which  every  passing  breeze  may  play. ' ' 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  193 

In  the  second  form  of  productive  imagination — that 
which  satisfies  the  intellectual  interest — the  process  is  simi- 
lar to  that  which  satisfies  aesthetic  interest.  There  is  first 
the  creation  of  some  notion,  as,  for  example,  that  of  plant- 
life  ;  second,  the  creation  of  the  expression,  as  a  discourse  on 
plants;  third,  the  identification  in  the  mind  of  the  author, 
of  his  discourse,  and  his  thought  relating  to  plant-life  un- 
der the  relation  of  symbol  and  thing  signified.  The  process 
in  the  invention  of  the  sewing-machine,  and  of  the  cotton- 
gin  belongs  under  this  form. 

In  the  third  form  of  productive  imagination — that 
which  satisfies  an  ethical  interest — the  process  is  similar 
to  that  under  the  intellectual  and  the  aesthetic  interest. 
The  mind  constructs  the  idea  for  some  general  truth  or 
principle  as,  for  example,  that  expressed  by  "all  just  gov- 
ernment derives  its  authority  from  the  consent  of  the  gov- 
erned. "  In  the  second  movement,  the  mind  creates  some 
embodiment  of  this,  as,  the  constitution  of  the  United  States, 
or  the  charter  of  a  city.  In  the  third  stage  it  judges  that 
this  constitution  or  this  charter  manifests  this  principle. 

Interpretative  imagination,  in  a  way,  reverses  the 
process  in  productive  imagination.  For  example,  let  it  be 
assumed  that  a  statue  is  being  studied.  At  first  the  mind 
will  contemplate  the  particular  object.  It  will  then,  by  re- 
flection, comprehend  its  inner  meaning.  It  will  conclude, 
by  estimating  the  statue,  i.  e.,  by  judging  whether,  as  a 
symbol,  it  adequately  expresses  the  meaning.  ( See  Dewey  'a 
Psychology,  pp.  195-200..) 

It  seems  evident  from  the  foregoing  discussion  that 
the  process  of  imagination  is  more  fundamental  than  the 
process  of  memory.  Some  of  the  main  ways  in  which  there 
seems  to  be  greater  development  may  be  mentioned: 

The  imagination  reveals  more  freedom  from  external 
restraint.  In  the  act  of  remembering  the  pencil,  the  mind 


194  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

created  the  image  of  the  particular  pencil,  and  this  image 
corresponded  exactly  to  the  external  object.  In  the  act  of 
imagination  the  mind  created  the  image  of  an  object — a 
pencil — which  had  never  been  experienced,  thus  manifest- 
ing the  mind's  initiative. 

It  has  more  of  consciousness  in  it  because  in  any 
given  case  the  mind  ceases  to  act  an  element  or  elements 
then  being  produced  and  constructs  other  elements  signify- 
ing other  characteristics  of  the  object.  There  is  also  a 
fuller  range  of  consciousness,  since,  in  imagination,  the 
person  is  slightly  aware  of  the  general.  For  example,  in 
the  case  of  the  pencil,  the  mind  ceased  to  act  the  element 
signifying  blue  in  the  crayon  point,  and  constructed  in  its 
stead  the  element  signifying  red.  Since  the  object  with  the 
new  characteristic,  red  crayon,  is  still  regarded  as  a  pencil, 
it  is  evident  that  the  mind  is  slightly  conscious  of  the  gen- 
eral idea  which  the  word,  ''pencil,"  names. 

It  is  more  developed  than  memory  because  its  activ- 
ity is  related  more  distinctly  to  the  purposes  of  the  self. 
Every  time  the  self  images  an  object,  either  in  an  improved 
form  or  merely  in  a  new  form,  the  first  step  toward  pur- 
posing to  have  the  object  in  that  form  has  been  taken.  In 
harmony  with  this  idea  it  has  been  said  that  "brain  paths 
lead  to  action." 

The  imagination  is  more  fundamental  than  memory 
in  that  it  is  more  closely  related  to  the  feelings,  particu- 
larly to  the  aesthetic  feelings.  Any  creation  arouses  the 
feeling  of  satisfaction  in  the  form  of  admiration  or  nega- 
tive aesthetic  feeling. 

At  this  stage  let  the  student  make  a  careful  investi- 
gation of  the  neural  basis  of  imagination. 

Some  of  the  main  pedagogical  principles  which 
originate  in  imagination  are  as  follows: 

The  child  should  be  trained  to  select  words  that 


THE  PROBLKM  OF  MKTHOD.  195 

are  graphic,  picturesque.  For  instance,  the  child  may  be 
led  to  listen  to  the  sound  of  the  wind  until  he  will  be  in- 
clined to  describe  the  wind  as  howling. 

The  child  should  be  led  to  image  according  to  true 
relations.  For  example,  if  he  is  writing  a  description  of 
the  object  suggested  by  this  sentence,  "Aunt  Polly  sat 
in  her  little  back  parlor  paring  a  panful  of  red  apples  be- 
fore the  fire,"  he  may,  by  a  few  suggestions,  be  made  con- 
scious that  Aunt  Polly 's  parlor  would  not  be  furnished  with 
a  piano  or  with  a  Brussels  carpet. 

The  child's  imagination  must  be  so  trained  that  he  will 
tend  to  seek  the  inner  meanings  of  works  of  art.  For  in- 
stance, in  the  picture  of  St.  Michael  and  the  Dragon  the 
child  should  first  sense-perceive  the  picture  as  a  whole. 
Then  he  should  be  led  to  distinguish  the  picture  into  its 
constituents  or  parts — an  angel  with  large  wings,  bright 
face,  and  great  arms,  holding  a  mighty  sword  in  one  hand 
over  a  dark  scowling  figure  with  small  wings,  and  with  the 
other  hand  forcing  this  ugly  figure  down  into  a  dark  pit 
between  two  mountains.  By  explanation,  questioning,  and 
suggestion  the  child  may  be  led  to  interpret  the  great  arms 
and  large  wings  to  signify  strength,  and  the  bright,  fair 
face,  goodness;  the  small  wings,  weakness;  the  scowling 
face,  evil.  The  child  is  then  to  be  so  directed  that  he  will 
unify  the  various  parts  with  their  meanings  in  a  way  to 
catch,  creatively,  their  general  truth, ' '  Good  conquers  evil. ' ' 

3.     The  Language  Activity. 

This  is  a  mode  of  mental  activity  concerned  with  sym- 
bols, i.  e.,  letters,  words,  sentences,  etc.  In  one  aspect  it 
is  partially  an  objectifying  activity.  It  is  a  complex  activ- 
ity involving  sometimes  sense-perceiving,  remembering, 
judging,  imagining.  Sometimes  it  contains  conceiving  and 
reasoning.  Its  content  or  object  of  consideration  is  lan- 
guage. The  act  has  been  termed  memorization.  This  term 


196  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

is  somewhat  objectionable,  however,  because  it  suggests 
the  activity  of  memorizing  which  is  quite  a  different  activ- 
ity from  that  referred  to  as  memorization  or  the  language 
activity.  The  general  nature  of  the  language  activity  is  ex- 
plained in  Psychology,  by  Dewey,  pp.  211-212. 

The  language  act  is  the  process  of  the  self  in  either 
producing  or  interpreting  language. 

a.     The  act  of  producing  language. 

In  this  act  the  mind  first  becomes  conscious  of  an 
object.  The  term,  object,  is  here  used  in  the  sense  set 
forth  on  page  158.  It  denotes  the  object  known  in  sense- 
perception,  memory,  imagination  or  introspection,  and  the 
relation  or  meaning  of  which  one  becomes  conscious  in  an 
act  of  understanding,  conception,  judgment,  reasoning,  or 
intuition.  For  example,  through  the  presence  of  an  object, 
or  of  a  picture  of  it,  or  through  language,  a  person  may 
become  conscious  of  an  animal,  as,  the  squirrel ;  or  through 
introspection  the  mind  may  become  conscious  of  its  dis- 
tinct mental  states  and  be  impressed  with  each  as  a  unit; 
or  through  abstraction  the  mind  may  become  conscious  of 
an  attribute  or  characteristic  of  an  object,  as  is  illustrated 
in  the  botanical  experiments  of  Mr.  Luther  Burbank.  In 
examining  closely  a  new  fruit  he  noted  particularly,  i.  e., 
abstracted,  certain  characteristics  of  both  the  potato  and 
the  tomato,  as,  the  green  top  of  the  potato,  the  growth  of  the 
fruit  on  the  top,  like  the  tomato,  the  size  and  shape  of  a 
small  tomato,  white  colored  flesh,  like  the  potato.  This 
was  an  example  of  abstraction.  The  abstracted  attribute 
was  the  object  which  was  afterwards  to  be  expressed  in 
language. 

The  abstraction  is  the  first  stage  in  the  productive 
language  act.  Adam,  according  to  Scriptural  account,  em- 
phasized a  certain  characteristic  of  his  companion.  This 
was  the  first  stage  in  his  process  of  naming  his  companion. 


THE  PROBLEM  OP  METHOD.  197 

By  reflection  or  abstraction  he  became  conscious  of  the 
general  characteristic — "Mother  of  all  the  living."  This 
characteristic  is  the  object  which  is  to  be  expressed  in  lan- 
guage. 

In  the  second  stage  of  the  act  of  producing  lan- 
guage the  person  becomes  conscious  that  there  is  no  suitable 
term  to  preserve  the  idea  of  the  object  of  which  he  became 
conscious  in  the  first  stage.  He,  therefore,  purposes  to 
produce  such  a  symbol.  In  the  first  of  the  cases  referred 
to  above,  having  noticed  particularly  the  tail  of  the  ani- 
mal, and  especially  its  bushy  character  which  enables  it  to 
cast  a  shadow,  he  imaged  the  term,  squirrel.  In  the  second 
case,  having  emphasized  the  distinctness  of  each  mental 
state,  and  the  unity  of  the  mental  states  in  this  respect,  he 
imaged  the  term  psycJiome.  In  the  third  case,  having  been 
impressed  with  the  characteristics  of  the  new  fruit  which 
he  had  obtained  by  crossing  the  potato  and  the  tomato  he 
imaged  the  term,  pomato.  In  the  other  case  mentioned,  the 
special  attention  to  the  characteristic  expressed  by  ' '  mother 
of  all  the  living,"  stimulated  the  act  of  imaging  the  name, 
Eve. 

The  third  stage  in  the  act  of  producing  language  is, 
practically,  contemporaneous  with  the  second,  and  implied 
in  it.  It  is  the  judgment  or  decision  that  the  imaged  term 
is  appropriate  to  the  meaning.  This  is  its  selection. 

This  act  of  judgment  and  selection  may  be  very 
brief,  or  it  may  require  considerable  deliberation.  The 
process  which  has  been  indicated  for  words,  is  also  present 
in  the  construction  of  phrases,  sentences,  paragraphs,  chap- 
ters, and  entire  volumes. 

b.     The  act  of  interpreting  language. 
This  process  is  essentially  the  reverse  of  the  former 
process.     The  assumption  is  that  the  language  has  been 


198  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

produced,  and  that  the  learner  is  examing  it  in  order  to  be- 
come conscious  of  its  structure  and  meaning. 

The  first  stage  is  the  process  of  becoming  conscious 
of  the  term  as  a  visible  or  audible  object.  For  example,  the 
pupil  may  become  conscious  of  the  word,  "squirrel,"  or 
"psychome,"  or  "Eve,"  or  "psychiatrist,"  as  a  visible  or 
audible  expression.  Since  this  term  is  always  a  particular, 
material  object,  the  process  of  becoming  aware  of  it  is  al- 
ways sense-perception,  memory  or  imagination. 

The  second  stage  in  the  interpretative  language  act 
is  the  process  of  remembering,  or  constructing  for  the  first 
time  the  idea  of  the  object  or  meaning  expressed  by  the 
term.  For  example,  the  child  may  be  led  by  questioning, 
explanation,  and  the  use  of  reference  books  to  interpret  the 
word,  "squirrel,"  to  mean  an  animal  with  a  bushy  tail; 
the  name,  ' '  Eve, ' '  to  mean  '  *  mother  of  all  the  living ; ' '  the 
term,  psychiatrist,"  to  mean  one  who  ministers  to  8  mind 
diseased. 

The  third  stage  is  the  act  of  the  mind  in  judging 
or  asserting  distinctly  that  term  which  was  considered  in 
the  first  stage  is  an  appropriate  symbol  for  the  idea  which 
has  been  either  recreated  or  created.  This  act  of  judgment, 
while  distinctly  a  separate  movement  in  consciousness,  does 
not  succeed  the  second  stage  in  time,  but  is  rather  co-exist- 
ent with  it. 

The  language  act  is  a  more  fully  developed  form  of 
consciousness  than  imagination.  Some  of  the  manifesta- 
tions of  this  development  are  as  follows:  In  the  language 
act,  the  mind  is  more  distinctly  conscious  of  the  relation. 
(Symbol  and  thing  signified.) 

It  is  more  distinctly  conscious  of  the  general.  ( The 
idea  expressed  in  the  language.) 

The  object  or  symbol  which  is  created  in  the  second 
stage  of  the  productive  language  act  is  more  fully  in 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  199 

identity  with  the  self  than  the  object  which  is  created  in 
imagination.  For  example,  a  picture,  a  statue,  a  work  of 
architecture  has  in  it  more  or  less  of  the  material,  while  a 
word,  as,  "faith,"  is  very  largely  a  product  of  the  self, 
manifesting,  to  a  certain  extent,  its  fundamental  process. 
There  is  a  more  distinct  consciousness  of  social  relations, 
because  the  object  created,  i.  e.,  the  word,  phrase,  etc.,  is 
for  the  sake  of  communication.  For  example,  the  rattling 
of  a  window  produces  a  sound,  but  the  sound  has  no  social 
significance.  The  sound,  "Good-morning,"  does,  however, 
have  social  relations  because  it  is  uttered  by  one  person, 
to  reveal  that  which  is  in  his  consciousness,  and  is  heard  by 
another,  and  its  meaning  becomes  a  part  of  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  person  hearing. 

The  student  may  here  make  an  investigation  of  the 
neural  basis  of  the  language  act. 

Among  the  pedagogical  principles  implicit  in  the 
language  act  are  these : 

The  child  should  be  led  to  distinguish  the  three 
kinds  of  language,  i.  e.,  objective,  subjective,  and  symbolic. 
(See  page  135.) 

He  should  be  led  to  value,  and  to  secure  a  rich  fund 
of  terms. 

He  should  be  taught  to  discriminate  closely,  and  to 
be  satisfied  with  exact  expressions  only. 

He  should  be  given  a  close  acquaintance  with  the 
literal  meanings  of  words. 

It  should  be  the  aim  to  give  him  the  habit  of  empha- 
sizing content  or  meaning  over  expression  or  form. 

III.     Thought. 
1.     The  Understanding. 

The  language  act  is  the  transition  from  imagination 
to  thought,  because  in  becoming  aware  of  the  meaning  the 


200  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

thought  processes  are  involved.  The  content  of  language  is 
usually  the  concept,  the  judgment,  or  the  product  of  some 
process  of  reasoning.  The  general  nature  of  thought 
was  shown  on  pages  164-165.  It  was  there  noted  that  its 
main  stages  are  understanding,  ratiocination,  and  intuition 
or  reason.  The  mental  activity  termed  understanding  is 
the  lowest,  most  indistinct,  and  most  mechanical  form  of 
thinking,  although  in  its  highest  stages  it  becomes  a  very 
important  process,  involving  considerable  reflection.  In  its 
lowest  stage  it  takes  the  form  termed  apprehension.  This 
is  the  mode  of  activity  referred  to  in  Angell's  Psychology, 
pages  203-206,  as  "consciousness  of  meaning."  On  these 
pages  it  is  shown  that  perception,  memory  and  imagination, 
while  signifying  primarily  particular  objects,  denote,  also, 
in  an  indistinct  v,  ay,  the  meaning  exhibited  in  these  ob- 
jects. The  author  says:  "Perception  could  never  lead  to 
the  establishment  of  habitual  co-ordinations  were  we  not 
able  to  apprehend  the  meaning  of  that  which  we  see  and 
hear  and  touch.  Memory  would  be  an  abortive  resuscita- 
tion of  the  past  could  we  not  recognize  the  meaning  of  that 
which  we  recall.  Imagination  in  all  its  forms  would  be  a 
mere  mental  logomachy  were  it  not  for  our  ability  to  un- 
derstand the  meaning  of  the  images  which  occupy  our 
minds.  From  beginning  to  end,  therefore,  of  our  mental 
activities  the  presence  of  meaning  is  absolutely  indespensa- 
ble." 

The  essential  nature  of  understanding  is  indicated 
by  stating  that  its  predominant  category  or  relation  is 
identity.  In  its  act  of  understanding  the  mind  becomes 
aware  of  the  different  parts  and  attributes  of  the  object, 
but  these  parts  and  attributes  are  regarded  as  brought  about 
in  the  object  by  forces  that  are  external  to  it.  The  mind, 
in  the  stage  of  development  known  as  the  understanding, 
does  not  become  conscious  of  an  essential  inner  force  in 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  201 

the  object  as  giving  rise  to  all  of  its  parts  and  distinctions. 

The  predominant  stages  of  the  understanding  have 
been  given  as  apprehension,  distinction  and  classification. 

In  apprehension  the  mind  constructs  the  image  or 
special  mental  state  appropriate  to  the  object,  reacts  simi- 
lar past  experiences  and  interprets  the  image  to  signify 
a  given  meaning.  This  meaning  is  reached  without  the 
conscious  process  of  reasoning,  and  there  is  a  tinge  of 
doubt  as  to  whether  the  true  meaning  had  been  discovered. 
This  doubt  is  reflected  in  the  term  "apprehension."  The 
mind  therefore  attempts  to  test  the  result  reached.  The 
doubt  develops  into  the  process  of  distinction,  in  which 
one  by  one,  the  mind  abstracts  and  examines  the  different 
parts  and  attributes  of  the  object  in  order  to  discover  the 
special  meaning  of  each.  It  then  holds  the  particular  mean- 
ing of  the  attribute  or  part  in  consciousness  along  with  the 
meaning  which  has  just  been  apprehended,  being  aware  that 
they  are  different,  although  known  in  the  one  mental  act. 
This  is  to  discriminate  them.  The  two  separate  meanings 
are  then  compared.  It  is  thus  evident  that  the  total  process 
in  distinction  consists  of  abstraction,  discrimination  and 
comparison.  The  mind  examines,  thus,  in  its  process  of 
distinction,  the  various  parts  and  attributes  of  the  object 
until  it  feels  justified  in  classifying  it. 

The  first  process  in  classification  is  that  of  classify- 
ing the  object  as  a  whole,  on  the  basis  of  the  meaning  dis- 
covered in  the  examination  of  the  various  parts  and  at- 
tributes. 

The  second  process  in  classification  is  the  act  of 
identifying  the  object  with  its  causes  and  effects. 

The  final  process  in  classification  is  to  identify  the 
object  with  its  central  meaning.  In  this  stage  the  mind 
becomes  aware  of  the  generic  force  which  underlies  the  ob- 
ject as  its  dominant  characteristic,  but  is  not  conscious  of 


202  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

it  as  creative;  that  is,  does  not  recognize  it  as  a  generic 
force.  It  merely  becomes  aware  of  this  central  truth  as 
in  the  object.  Through  the  whole  process  of  understand- 
ing the  object  or  objects  the  mind  regards  all  parts,  at- 
tributes, divisions,  etc.,  as  externally  imposed. 

The   following  examples  will  reveal  in  simple   form 
the  general  nature  of  the  process  in  understanding : 

Let  the  object  be  a  glass  pen  in  which  the  tubular 
holder  tapers  at  one  end  to  form  the  point. 

In  the  first  stage — that  of  apprehension — the  mind 
first  creates  an  image  appropriate  to  the  object.  The 
image  stimulates  the  mind  to  react  similar  past  experiences, 
and  to  compare  and  contrast  them  with  the  present  image. 
Upon  this  basis  the  mind  dimly  interprets  the  image  to 
mean  a  glass  pen.  This  completes  the  stage  of  apprehension. 

The  presence  of  this  meaning  stimulates  the  process 
of  distinction.  In  this  process  the  mind  first  abstracts 
one  particular  element  of  the  image  to  which  it  directs  its 
attention.  In  this  case  it  abstracts  the  element  signifying 
the  tapering  point.  The  mind  then  sets  the  idea  of  the 
tapering  point  over  against  the  apprehended  meaning  of 
the  object.  This  stimulates  the  comparison  of  the  idea  of 
that  particular  characteristic  with  the  apprehended  mean- 
ing to  discover  whether  or  not  it  is  in  harmony  with  it, 
thus  tending  to  prove  it  to  be  the  correct  meaning.  The 
mind  may  put  forth  this  full  process  of  distinction  with  at- 
tribute after  attribute  of  the  object  until  it  is  certain  as 
to  whether  or  not  the  meaning  apprehended  is  the  correct 
one.  In  this  case  the  element  signifying  a  tapering  point 
supports  the  meaning,  a  glass  pen,  and  the  apprehended 
meaning  is  correct.  This  completes  the  stage  of  distinction. 

The  process  of  distinction  develops  into  the  stage 
of  classification. 

First,  on  account  of  the  external  attributes  of  the 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  203 

object,  the  mind  classifies  it,  as  a  whole,  as  a  glass  pen. 

The  object  is  then  classified  as  to  its  cause  and  effect. 
To  do  this  the  mind  reflects  concerning  the  process  in  the 
consciousness  of  the  producer.  What  ideas  caused  him  to 
produce  the  object  ? 

This  reflection  may  result  in  the  idea  that  the 
producer  wished  to  make  a  pen  in  which  the  pen  and  holder 
would  be  in  one  piece.  He  may  have  thought  that  a  glass 
pen  would  prove  more  attractive  to  the  child  than  an  or- 
dinary pen,  and  that  in  consequence  the  sales  might  be 
greater.  He  may  have  known  that  a  glass  pen  would  be 
easily  broken,  and  that  this  would  also  tend  to  increase  the 
sales.  The  person  who  is  studying  the  object  may,  by  his 
reflection,  have  discovered  many  other  causes  of  the  glass 
pen,  but  these  are  sufficient  to  make  the  example  clear. 

The  mind  of  the  investigator  next  discovers  the 
effects  of  the  production  of  the  object.  He  finds  that  the 
pen  is  always  ready  for  use,  since  it  is  made  in  one  piece; 
that  it  attracts  the  attention  of  the  child,  and  that  every 
child  will  have  one  if  possible ;  that  it  is  easily  broken,  and 
that  a  paper  written  with  a  glass  pen  does  not  present  as 
neat  an  appearance  as  one  written  with  a  steel  pen. 

The  last  stage  in  the  process  of  classification  is  the 
discovery  of  the  central  idea  in  the  object.  In  this  case  it 
discovers  the  idea,  writing  with  a  one-piece  object  to  be  the 
dominant  notion.  This  central  characteristic  of  the  object 
is,  however,  considered  as  passive,  as  merely  there. 

Let  a  second  example  be  the  process  of  understand- 
ing some  strange  plant,  as  the  water-mould. 

The  act  begins  by  the  apprehension  of  the  mould 
as  it  lies  on  a  piece  of  mounting  glass.  In  this  process  of 
apprehension,  as  shown  in  the  previous  example,  there  are 
three  distinct  movements,  e.  g.,  the  mind  sense-perceives 
the  mould  on  the  mounting  glass,  reacts  similar  past  ex- 


204  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

perience  and  compares  and  contrasts  the  idea  of  the  pres- 
ent object  with  similar  past  experience  and  is  thus  led  to 
infer  that  the  object  present  now  is  water-mould.  Appre- 
hension is  really  the  first  aspect  of  the  law  of  self  as  mani- 
fested in  the  act  of  understanding. 

The  presence  of  the  apprehended  meaning  stimulates 
the  mind  to  pass  into  the  stage  of  distinction.  This  stage 
either  proves  or  disproves  the  inference  made  in  the  stage 
of  apprehending.  It  also  is  a  complex  process:  First,  the 
mind  abstracts  an  attribute  as  colorless.  It  then  discrim- 
inates the  meaning  of  this  attribute  and  the  general  idea  or 
meaning — water-mould — which  it  had  apprehended.  It 
compares  the  meaning  of  the  abstracted  attribute — color- 
less—  and  the  meaning  of  water-mould,  asking  the  ques- 
tion, "Does  the  meaning  of  water-mould  harmonize  with 
the  meaning  of  the  abstracted  attribute  ? ' '  One  distinction 
may  furnish  sufficient  basis  for  the  classification  of  the  ob- 
ject, but  the  mind  usually  abstracts  many  attributes.  For 
example,  in  this  case  the  student  may,  by  means  of  the 
microscope,  isolate  the  characteristics — thread-like  parts, 
spore-producing,  particularly  shaped  spores,  etc,  and  in 
each  case  discriminate  and  compare,  asking,  meanwhile,  the 
question  given  above. 

When  the  process  of  distinction  has  disclosed  con- 
siderable significant  data,  there  is  a  development  into  the 
higher  process  of  classification. 

In  this  process,  on  the  basis  of  the  meaning  of  the 
attributes  discovered,  i.  e.,  living  in  water,  receiving  nour- 
ishment from  seeds,  fish  eggs,  fish  and  dead  insects,  col- 
orless, thread-like,  spore-producing,  having  spores  of  a 
characteristic  kind — the  mind  makes  the  general  classifica- 
tion of  the  whole  object  as  water-mould.  This  meaning  is 
more  fully  mediated  than  that  of  apprehension.  This  act 
of  general  classification  is  succeeded  by  the  act  of  classing 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  205 

the  object  with  its  causes  and  effects.  It  is  discovered,  for 
example,  that  the  causes  of  the  water-mould  are  the  pres- 
ence of  water  in  large  quantities,  of  dead  insects  in  the 
water,  its  own  nature,  etc. 

The  self  continues  its  process  of  classification  by  be- 
coming conscious  that  the  effects  are  as  follows:  the  dis- 
integration of  the  lifeless  insects,  and  the  restoration  of 
the  elements  in  them  to  the  air  and  soil,  the  destruction  of 
dormant  fish,  the  prevention  of  the  hatching  of  fish  eggs, 
the  destruction  of  the  germ  in  the  seed,  etc. 

The  conclusion  of  the  process  of  classification  is  the 
act  of  identifying  the  water-mould  with  its  predominant 
characteristic,  i.  e.,  putting  forth  its  peculiar  mode  of  ac- 
tivity in  water,  as  its  name  signifies. 

The  understanding  is  more  fundamental  than  the 
language  act  in  that  the  most  active  element  of  conscious- 
ness— attention — is  concentrated  more  largely  upon  mean- 
ing, as  such,  than  is  the  case  in  the  language  act. 

As  previously  indicated,  the  element  of  relation  or 
meaning  is  indistinctly  and  indirectly  noticed  even  in 
sense-perception  and  memory.  This  apprehension  of  mean- 
ing becomes  slightly  more  explicit  in  imagination  and  still 
more  so  in  the  language  act.  It  remains  true,  however, 
that  in  each  of  these  forms  of  activity  the  focus  of  atten- 
tion is  upon  the  particular  object  which,  in  the  language  act, 
is  language  or  expression  itself. 

In  the  act  of  understanding,  the  focus  of  atten- 
tion has  changed  from  the  particular  object  to  its  meaning, 
i.  e.,  the  mind  does  not  apprehend  the  particular  object, 
but  rather  the  meaning  of  it;  it  does  not  notice  the  ab- 
stracted attribute,  but  the  meaning  of  the  abstracted  at- 
tribute; it  does  not  discriminate  the  object  and  the  ab- 
stracted attribute,  but  the  meaning  of  the  object  and  the 
meaning  of  the  abstracted  attribute,  etc.  This  is  an  im- 


206  THK  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

portant  advance.  It  is  the  act  of  being  concerned  with, 
relation,  a  general,  permanent  something,  rather  than  with 
a  particular,  transient  existence. 

What  is  the  neural  basis  of  the  stages  in  the  progress 
of  understanding? 

The  following  may  be  given  as  pedagogical  princi- 
ples implicit  in  the  activity  of  understanding : 

The  pupil  should  be  led  to  feel  that  sameness  is  the 
relation  emphasized  in  the  understanding  and  that  distinc- 
tion is  for  the  purpose  of  identity. 

His  process  in  knowing  the  meaning  should  be  in 
harmony  with  the  order  of  development  in  the  process  of 
understanding — apprehension,  abstraction,  discrimination, 
etc.,  but  there  should  be  no  effort  to  make  him  acquainted 
with  the  process  itself. 

He  must  be  led  to  feel  that  the  true  totality  of  an 
object  is  found  in  its  causes,  its  present  condition  and  its 
effects,  and  that  what  is  usually  called  an  object  is  only 
abstract,  i.  e.,  partial. 

Finally  the  pupil  must  be  so  directed  in  his  work 
of  discovering  the  meaning  of  objects  that  he  will  feel  that 
each  object  possesses  a  central  characteristic  which  gives 
most  insight  into  its  nature. 

2.     Ratiocination. 

The  nature  of  this  general  process  has  been  sufficiently 
considered  on  pages  168-170.  Attention  is  to  be  given  here 
to  its  first  form. 

a.     Conception. 

The  beginning  stage  of  ratiocination  is  the  process 
of  conception.  The  idea  resulting  from  the  process  is 
termed  the  concept.  Conception  takes  its  origin  as  do  all 
other  mental  processes,  in  an  initial  condition,  the  image. 
(See  page  158.)  The  image  is  the  preliminary  adjustment 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  207 

of  the  mind  to  the  object.  It  may  be  said  to  be  any  partic- 
ular mental  state  of  the  self  prior  to  the  discovery  of  the 
function  or  meaning  of  that  state.  The  image  is  the  germ- 
inal stage  of  the  total  mental  act,  the  other  stages  of  which 
develop  from  the  image  according  to  the  general  laws  of 
the  mind  and  the  special  culture  of  the  individual.  The 
process  of  conception  may  be  defined  in  a  preliminary  man- 
ner, as  the  construction  of  an  image  which  is  an  adjustment 
to  a  particular  object  present  or  absent,  and  the  in- 
terpretation of  this  image  as  symbolizing,  not  the  particular 
object,  but  rather  its  creative  activity.  That  is,  the  past 
experience  is  so  adjusted  to  the  image  as  to  invest  it  with 
a  general  meaning.  In  other  words,  the  image  in  concep- 
tion signifies  a  relation  of  the  object,  and  not  merely  the 
particular  object,  and  this  relation  is  the  essential  nature 
of  the  object. 

It  is  held  by  some  psychologists  that  one  may  have 
a  concept  of  a  particular  object,  as  of  Lake  Michigan. 
This  seems  to  be  the  position  of  Herbart  and  those  who  are 
in  harmony  with  his  psychological  doctrine.  The  view  is 
not  limited  to  these,  however.  In  Angell's  Psychology, 
pages  213-214,  the  same  opinion  is  expressed:  "We  define 
conception  as  a  process  of  forming  general  ideas,  and  this 
seems  to  be  the  most  striking  feature  in  the  process.  But  if 
all  words  are  essentially  concepts,  we  must  have  concepts  of 
individual  objects  as  well  as  of  classes;  or  at  all  events, 
our  method  of  thinking  individual  objects  must  be  the  same 
as  our  method  of  thinking  classes.  This  is,  indeed,  the  fact. 
We  really  have  a  concept  of  Jupiter,  as  well  as  of  gods ;  a 
concept  of  earth,  as  well  as  a  concept  of  planets ;  a  concept 
of  this  particular  book,  as  well  as  of  books  in  general.  We 
have  only  to  remember  that  conception  is,  after  all,  at  bot- 
tom simply  a  mental  process  of  designating  meanings,  to 
see  that  we  can  in  this  way  indicate  any  meaning  we  wish ; 


208  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

e.  g.,  the  meaning  of  a  single  object  or  a  dozen;  the  mean- 
ing of  a  mathematical  relation,  or  of  an  historical  relation ; 
the  meaning  of  a  familiar  object,  or  of  an  impossible  one. 
In  each  and  every  case  we  shall  have  a  concept,  and  in  most 
cases  a  word,  or  a  word-image,  will  be  a  very  convenient  de- 
vice by  means  of  which  to  think  it. 

We  may  easily  connect  the  process  by  means  of  which 
we  gain  concepts  of  single  objects  with  the  process  by 
means  of  which  we  obtain  general  ideas  of  classes  of  ob- 
jects, if  we  observe  that  in  both  cases  we  have  simply  set 
a  boundary  line  about  certain  things;  in  the  one  case  the 
boundary  contains  one  object,  in  the  other  it  contains  an 
indefinite  number.  But  in  both  cases  our  mental  act  has 
been  the  distinguishing  of  one  kind  of  meaning  from  all 
other  kinds  of  meaning.  That  form  of  the  process  in 
which  our  idea  refers  to  some  common  property,  or  proper- 
ties, of  a  number  of  experiences  has  commonly  been  re- 
garded as  the  true  type  of  conception,  because  we  appear 
in  such  cases  to  have  abstracted  the  common  qualities  of 
a  number  of  events,  then  generalized  upon  these,  and  so 
obtained  the  concept,  or  general  idea.  But  the  process  by 
which  we  reach  a  concept  of  a  single  object  involves  abstrac- 
tion just  as  truly,  if  not  so  extensively,  as  the  previous 
form  of  operation.  To  obtain  a  concept  of  London  involves 
setting  the  idea  of  London  off  against  all  other  ideas;  in- 
volves abstracting  it  in  a  perfectly  definite  way.  In  a 
sense,  too,  our  concept  of  London  is  just  as  complete,  just 
as  universal,  as  is  the  concept  city.  It  applies  to  all  of  its 
object,  as  truly  as  does  the  concept  city,  and  it  is  in  a 
measure  an  accident,  an  irrelevant  incident,  that  the  total 
object  referred  to  is  singular  and  not  plural." 

In  objection  to  this  doctrine  two  things  may  be  said : 
In  the  first  place,  close  introspection  would  probably  show 
that  a  person  while  considering  the  seemingly  particular 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  209 

objects,  e.  g.,  Jupiter,  the  earth,  London,  etc.,  is  in  a  sub- 
conscious way,  aware  of  each  as  one  of  a  class. 

In  the  second  place,  the  process  of  abstraction,  which 
is  said  to  be  involved  in  the  act  of  creating  the  concept  of  a 
particular  object,  really  resolves  the  particular  object,  as 
London,  into  many  objects,  and  hence  the  meaning  ob- 
served is  a  general  meaning  in  that  it  is  common  to  all 
the  aspects  of  the  particular  object.  For  example,  one 
may  dwell  in  London  for  months,  or  years,  and  gradually 
become  acquainted  with  its  streets,  docks,  tramways,  banks, 
cab  lines,  bridges,  tenement  houses,  etc.  In  each  of  these 
aspects  of  London  he  becomes  aware  of  a  common  spirit 
or  meaning.  This  common  meaning  is  the  concept  or  sig- 
nificance of  the  many  objects  or  aspects  of  the  one  city. 

A  more  common  notion  of  conception  is  that  the  act 
is  one  in  which  the  person  interprets  his  image  of  a  single 
object  to  denote  a  meaning  common  to  it  and  to  all  others 
of  its  class.  In  this  case  the  person  is  aware  that  the  par- 
ticular object  is  merely  one  of  a  class.  The  image  of  a 
particular  object  is  related  to  the  observer's  past  in  such 
a  way  as  to  symbolize  the  common  attribute,  or  the  group 
of  common  attributes  as  passive,  i.  e.,  as  merely  there. 
This  aspect  of  conception  is  closely  allied  to  the  under- 
standing. This  more  common  notion  is  shown  on  page  208 
of  Angell's  Psychology:  "We  may  say,  following  the 
common  usage,  that  conception  is  that  mental  operation 
by  means  of  which  we  bring  together  the  common  points 
of  our  various  experiences  and  mentally  consolidate  them 
into  ideas;  ideas  which  we  are  then  able  to  use  as  symbols, 
or  representatives,  of  these  manifold  ideas." 

This  is  probably  the  notion  of  the  concept  which  is 
best  adapted  to  educational  work  in  the  grades  and  to  a 
large  extent  in  the  high  school. 

In  the  closing  years  of  the  high  school  and  to  a 


210  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

limited  degree  somewhat  earlier,  the  pupil  is  able  to  know, 
or  at  least,  to  feel  a  more  fundamental  meaning.  To  this 
more  generic  aspect  of  the  meaning  created  in  conception 
attention  will  now  be  given. 

The  essential  idea  in  conception  is  that  of  creation 
or  production.  It  is  an  act  of  constructing  an  image  of 
a  particular  object,  as,  for  example,  of  a  column,  and 
interpreting  the  image  to  symbolize  the  creative  activity 
which  gives  rise  to  this  object  and  to  all  other  objects  of 
the  class.  In  Dewey's  Psychology  this  doctrine  is  thus  ex- 
pressed on  page  204-205:  "A  concept  is  an  image  having 
the  function  of  symbolizing  some  law  or  principle  in  ac- 
cordance with  which  a  thing  or  a  number  of  things  may 
be  constructed." 

In  the  Public  School  Journal,  Vol.  11,  pages  128-130 
the  same  writer  in  explaining  the  act  of  conception  says : 
"The  concept  arises  from  the  percept  through  realizing 
the  full  meaning  i'm-plied,  but  not  e^-plicit  in  the  percept. 
For  example,  take  the  percept  of  the  triangle.  So  far  as 
this  is  a  mere  percept,  it  is  regarded  wholly  as  a  particular 
thing.  Knowledge  of  it  from  this  point  of  view  would  be 
exhausted  in  getting  its  exact  shape,  size,  length  of  sides, 
degree  of  angles,  stuff  made  of,  color,  etc.  The  mind 
would  nowhere  be  led  beyond  the  consideration  of  the  bare 
thing  present.  If  it  were  found  that  the  sum  of  its  three 
Interior  angles  was  equal  to  two  right  angles  this  would 
be  a  trait  of  the  particular  angle,  a  bare  item  of  informa- 
tion of  no  more  general  value  than  that  the  length  of  one 
side  was  one  and  two-seventeenths  inches. 

But  suppose  the  mind  advances  beyond  the  particu- 
lar triangle  to  the  thought  that  there  is  a  principle  involv( 
in  the  triangle;  that  the  triangle,  like  everything  else 
the  world,  is  made  upon  a  certain  principle  which  is  em- 
bodied in  it;  that  this  principle  furnishes  the  plans  an< 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  211 

specifications  according  to  which  anything  must  exist  in 
order  to  be  a  triangle  at  all ;  a  principle  which,  if  exceeded 
or  come  short  of,  there  is  no  triangle  at  all.  What  shall 
we  call  this  principle?  Is  it  not  evident  that,  since  it  is 
this  principle  which  constitutes  the  particular  thing  a 
triangle,  rather  than  a  pumpkin  or  a  stove  pipe,  it  is  this 
principle  we  really  mean  by  triangle  and  are  attempting 
to  know?  Well,  it  is  this  principle  which  forms  the  con- 
cept, *  triangle'.  The  concept  of  'triangle,'  in  other  words, 
is  the  way  in  which  three  lines  are  put  together;  it  is  a 
mode  or  form  of  construction." 

In  regard  to  this  doctrine  Dr.  W.  T.  Harris,  Com- 
missioner of  Education,  offers  the  following  on  page  179 
of  the  same  volume  of  the  Public  School  Journal : 

"I  was  very  glad  to  see  Professor  John  Dewey's 
article  on  the  question,  'How  does  the  concept  arise  from 
the  percept.'  I  think  that  his  answer  to  the  question  is 
substantially  the  right  one,  and  I  do  not  know  of  anything 
more  important  in  psychology  than  this  view  of  the  ques- 
tion. The  concept  arises  from  the  percept,  not  by  omis- 
sion of  certain  traits  and  features  that  are  not  common  to 
the  special  percepts — it  does  not  arise  from  abstraction — 
but  it  arises  by  a  deeper  insight  into  the  constructive  na- 
ture of  the  process  which  creates  or  generates  the  particu- 
lars which  form  the  objects  of  perception.  Sense-percep- 
tion furnishes  us  objects  which  are  dead  results.  The  con- 
ceptive  faculty  perceives  the  generatives  causes,  the  for- 
mulative  processes  and  sees  these,  more  or  less  adequately, 
when  it  uses  general  names.  The  conception  thus,  as  Mr. 
Dewey  tells  us,  perceives  a  deeper  reality  than  sense-per- 
ception. Nominalism  had  inverted  the  true  order.  It  sup- 
posed that  the  objects  of  sense-perception  were  the  true 
realities,  and  that  concepts  were  mere  classifications  or 
empty  names,  without  a  corresponding  reality. 


212  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

There  are  two  grades  of  reality;  the  dead  results 
offered  to  our  senses,  and  the  living  process  or  force,  which 
brings  or  causes  these  dead  results  or  things.  The  process 
is  the  deeper  reality,  because  the  cause  contains  in  it  all 
the  reality  of  the  effect  and  also  all  of  the  reality  which  is 
necessary  to  annul  the  effect.  However,  few  people  have 
learned  to  think  sufficiently  to  see  that  change  involves, 
first,  the  reality  of  the  thing  as  it  is;  secondly,  a  deeper 
reality  which  annuls  the  thing  as  it  is  and  causes  another 
thing  to  exist  in  its  place. ' ' 

The  process  in  the  act  of  conception  may  be  illustrated 
by  considering  it  in  relation  to  the  column  as  a  feature  in 
architecture.  With  the  Greeks  there  were  at  first  two 
orders,  the  Doric  and  Ionic.  From  these  there  developed 
the  Corinthian  order,  and  in  later  times,  under  Roman 
influences,  there  arose  the  Tuscan  and  the  Composite  orders. 
Each  column  consists  of  base,  shaft  and  capital.  The  base 
usually  includes  the  plinth,  torus  and  scotia.  The  shaft 
is  a  cylinder  varying  in  height  from  four  to  nine  and  one- 
half  diameters.  It  is  fluted,  and  the  flutings  vary  in  num- 
ber, from  sixteen  to  twenty-four.  It  slightly  increases 
in  diameter  for  about  one-third  of  its  height,  and  then  de- 
creases gradually  to  the  capital.  The  capital  consists  of 
one  or  more  grooves  running  around  the  top  of  the  shaft 
at  right  angles  to  the  flutings,  the  echinus,  and  the  abacus. 
There  is  great  variety  in  regard  to  these  different  features, 
but  amid  all  variety  the  column  maintains  its  central  func- 
tion of  supporting  and  manifests  a  gradual  transition  from 
the  stylobat  to  the  architrave. 

Let  it  be  assumed  that  a  Doric  column  is  present  to 
the  observer.  "What  is  the  process  in  his  act  of  conceiving 
the  column? 

His  mind  adjusts  itself  to  the  particular  column  present 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  213 

as  it  would  in  an  act  of  sense-perception.  That  is,  it  con- 
structs a  definite  image  of  the  object. 

The  presence  of  this  image  stimulates  the  reaction  of 
similar  past  experiences.  The  presence  of  the  present  im- 
age and  of  the  re-acted  experiences  in  consciousness,  stimu- 
lates the  relating  activity  of  the  self.  The  result  is  a  care- 
ful comparison  of  the  present  image  with  the  re-produced 
experience. 

The  act  of  relating  gradually  becomes  an  inference. 
The  mind  infers  its  present  image  to  denote,  not  the  present 
particular  column,  not  the  set  of  common  attributes  be- 
longing to  columns,  but  something  still  more  fundamental, 
i.  e.,  the  creative  activity  which  produced  this  and  other 
columns. 

The  process  thus  terminates  in  the  idea  of  the  prin- 
ciple or  energy  which  produces  columns. 

In  perception  the  mind  would  have  interpreted  the 
image  to  signify  the  particular  column  as  present  and  as 
different  from  the  self. 

In  the  act  of  conception,  however,  the  image  is  in- 
terpreted to  denote  a  much  more  complex  object.  It  de- 
notes (1)  the  generic  energy  or  column-producing  activ- 
ity as  undifferentiated ;  (2)  the  differentiation  of  this  uni- 
versal energy  into  its  principal  modes  of  activity,  as  the 
activity  revealing  itself  in  the  Doric  order,  that  revealing 
itself  in  the  Ionic  order,  etc.,  and  the  differentiation  of  each 
of  these  predominant  modes  of  activity  into  particulars; 
(3)  The  manifestation  in  each  of  these  particulars  of  the 
universal  mode  of  producing  columns,  as  well  as  the  more 
special  mode,  as,  for  example,  the  Doric  principle. 

It  thus  appears  that  the  mind  in  its  act  of  concep- 
tion reads  into  its  particular  state  or  image  a  rich  and  im- 
portant meaning.  The  image  denotes  a  generic  force,  a 
universal;  the  differentiation  of  this  universal  into  sub- 


214 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 


ordinate  modes  of  activity,  and  the  further  differentiation 
of  the  subordinate  modes  into  the  particulars;  and  the 
manifestation  by  each  particular  of  both  the  subordinate 
and  the  universal  energies  or  modes  of  activity.  The  great 
significance  of  the  act  of  conception  is  that  it  results  in  an 
implicit  recognition  of  the  unity  of  the  universal  and  the 
particular.  It  is  important  to  have  merely  a  feeling  that 
the  particular  is  generic. 

Conception  is  more  fundamental  than  the  act  of 
understanding  in  the  following  respects:  It  involves  a 
consciousness  of  the  central  characteristic  as  a  creative 
force.  It  is  the  change  from  the  comprehension  of  an  ob- 
ject as  passive  to  the  notion  of  it  as  active,  as  having  within 
it  a  mode  of  activity  which  creates  its  parts  and  attributes. 

It  would  be  advantageous  to  work  out  at  this  stage 
the  neural  basis  of  the  act  of  conception. 

Among  the  pedagogical  principles  implicit  in  the 
process  of  conception  the  following  may  be  noticed : 

The  teacher  may  lead  the  pupil  to  think  of  the 
idea  in  the  object  itself  as  determining  the  various  parts 
and  attributes  of  each  particular  object.  For  example, 
the  central  idea  or  function  of  the  column — supporting — 
determines  that  there  shall  be  a  base,  a  shaft  and  a  capital ; 
that  the  plinth  shall  be  a  transition  from  the  scotia  to  the 
torus,  etc. 

The  pupil  should  be  led  to  see  the  unity  of  function 
of  the  parts  and  attributes  of  each  single  object. 

He  should  be  encouraged  to  select  the  common 
characteristics  of  the  objects  or  subordinate  classes  and  of 
the  total  class. 

He  should  also  have  awakened  in  him  the  desire 
to  clarify  his  indistinct  concepts.  This  sometimes  widens 
the  meaning,  as  when  Jesus  said  to  the  Jews,  "Ye  shall 
now  the  truth  and  the  truth  shall  make  you  free."  It 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  215 

sometimes  restricts  the  meaning,  as  when  one  thinks  the 
word  teaching  to  denote  all  instruction,   and  afterwards 
conceives  teaching  as  the  art  which  puts  the  learner  more 
into  possession  of  himself, 
b.     Judgment. 

The  psychological  activity  of  judging  is  a  develop- 
ment of  conception.  In  conception  the  self  is  conscious  of  a 
universal,  a  particular,  and  their  unity.  There  is  a  distinct 
consciousness  of  the  universal  as  such,  but  the  knowledge  of 
the  identity  of  the  universal  and  the  particular  is  implicit. 
Judgment  is  a  higher  mode  of  knowing  than  is  conception 
in  that  the  consciousness  of  the  relation  of  the  general 
to  the  particular  becomes  explicit.  The  judgment  involves 
discrimination  as  an  element,  because  the  universal  or 
general  and  the  particular  are  held  apart  in  consciousness, 
but  comparison  and  the  act  of  identifying  are  also  elements. 
The  explicit  knowledge  of  the  identity  constitutes  the  de- 
velopment out  of  conception. 

The  awareness  of  the  relation  of  the  general  and  the 
particular  is  so  distinct  that  it  is  called  an  assertion  and 
may  afterwards  be  expressed  in  the  copula  of  the  sen- 
tence. Since  in  the  act  of  conception  the  mind  is  conscious 
of  the  universal  or  the  generic  activity,  the  subordinate 
modes  of  the  generic  activity,  the  particular,  and  of  the 
fact  that  the  particular  manifests  the  generic  activity, 
the  act  of  judging  is  merely  the  explicit  knowledge  of 
the  same  factors. 

The  characteristic  fact  of  which  the  self  becomes 
conscious  in  its  process  of  judging  is  that  the  particular 
is  generic.  This  is  implicit  in  every  judgment  and  may 
be  observed  by  noticing  any  expressed  judgment,  as,  "This 
Doric  column  is  fluted."  It  is  evident  that  the  subject  of 
the  sentence  expresses  a  known  object,  the  predicate  a 
known  attribute,  and  the  copula  a  known  identity.  The 


216  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

fact  that  the  particular  is  spoken  of  as  a  column  and  as 
Doric,  indicates  that  the  mind  is  aware  that  the  particular 
manifests  the  generic,  i.  e.,  the  universal  activity  which 
produces  columns,  and  that  it  also  manifests  that  sub- 
ordinate form  of  column-producing  activity  known  as 
Doric. 

The  word  "fluted"  also  denotes  the  presence  of 
generic  activity,  since  the  attribute  expressed  by  the  word 
is  one  of  the  potentialities  of  column-producing  activity. 

It  appears  from  this  analysis  that  the  process  in  an 
act  of  judgment  is:  Consciousness  of  a  particular,  of  a 
universal,  and  of  their  unity.  Hence,  the  judgment  seems 
to  represent  more  closely  than  does  any  other  form  of 
knowing,  the  characteristic  process  or  law  of  the  mind. 

The  inference  is  that  the  subject  of  a  sentence  always 
expresses  a  particular,  at  least  in  comparison  with  that 
which  the  predicate  denotes,  the  predicate  a  universal  and 
the  copula  a  unity  of  the  two. 

Let  this  inference  be  examined  by  a  consideration 
of  examples  under  the  classes  of  sentences: 

1.  On  the  basis  of  the  characteristic  process  of  the 
self,  judgments  are  immediate,  conditional,  or  definitive. 

Examples  of  these  forms  are : 

This  flower  is  blue. 

If  the  snow  is  melting  it  is  warm. 

A  circle  is  an  enclosed  space,  every  point  in  the 
circumference  of  which  is  equally  distant  from  a  point 
within  called  the  center. 

2.  On  the  basis  of  whether  the  attribute  expressed 
by  the  predicate  adds  to  the  meaning  of  the  object  ex- 
pressed by  the  the  subject  of  the  sentence,  judgments  are 
analytic  and  synthetic,  as : 

The  robin  is  a  bird. 
This  flower  is  blue. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  217 

The  shortest  distance  between  two  points  is  a 
straight  line. 

The  first  of  these  is  regarded  as  analytic,  because 
the  object  expressed  by  the  word  robin  is  thought  to  in- 
clude the  characteristics  denoted  by  the  word  bird.  The 
second  and  third  are  considered  to  be  synthetic  on  the 
ground  that  the  attribute  expressed  by  the  predicate  adds 
a  new  characteristic  to  the  object  expressed  by  the  subject. 
It  is  probable  that  all  judgments  termed  synthetic  are, 
psychologically  viewed,  analytic. 

3.  On  the  basis  of  the  necessity  of  the  unity  of  the 
particular  and  the  universal,  judgments  have  been  classed 
by  Kant,  Brougham,  Sir  William  Hamilton  and  others  as 
contingent  and  apodeictical.     An  example  of  the  contin- 
gent form  is  "All  existences  are  useful,"  while  the  apodeic- 
tical form  is  shown  in  "Only  one  straight  line  can  be 
drawn  between  two  points." 

4.  On  the  basis  of  purpose  judgments  are  classed 
into  four  kinds  exemplified  by  the  following : 

Iron  is  a  metal. 

Is  the  book  heavy? 

Open  the  letter. 

* '  How  far  that  little  candle  throws  its  beams ! ' ' 

5.  On  the  basis  of  the  number  of  psychological  as- 
sertions of  the  unity  of  the  general  and  the  particular,  and 
the  relation  of  these  thoughts,  judgments  are  classed  as 
simple,  complex  compound  and  compound-complex,  as : 

This  flower  is  blue. 

This  flower  which  is  in  the  vase  is  wild. 
This  flower  and  the  vase  are  mine. 
This  flower  which  is  in  the  vase  and  the  vase 
are  mine. 

6.  On  the  basis  of  whether  the  relation  asserted  is 


218  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

unity  or  difference,  judgments  are  classed  as  positive,  or 
negative,  as: 

Anger  is  an  emotion. 
This  fruit  is  not  an  apple. 

It  will  be  of  advantage  to  examine,  one  by  one, 
each  of  these  judgments  given  to  illustrate  the  various 
classes,  in  order  to  decide  whether  the  mind  is  conscious  of 
a  particular  in  that  which  is  expressed  by  the  subject,  and 
of  a  general  or  universal  in  that  which  is  expressed  by  the 
predicate;  and  also  to  determine  whether  the  relation  ex- 
pressed is  always,  fundamentally,  one  of  unity,  even  in 
those  cases  in  which  the  writer's  intention  is  to  denote 
difference. 

It  is  evident  that  the  mind  asserts  a  unity  between 
the  particular  and  the  general  in  the  judgment,  ''This 
flower  is  blue. ' '  In  the  sentence,  ' '  Iron  is  a  metal, ' '  is  this 
also  the  case  ?  A  single  fragment  of  the  iron  of  the  world, 
or  the  whole  of  the  iron  existing  may  be  regarded  as  a 
particular  object.  That  which  the  self  is  conscious  of  as 
denoted  by  the  predicate  seems  on  the  surface  to  be  a 
space-occupying  object.  Reflection,  however,  indicates 
that  the  mind  is  thinking  of  the  characteristics  of  metal  or 
the  attribute,  being  in  the  class,  metals. 

Each  of  these  is  a  general,  and  hence  wider  than 
the  object  expressed  by  the  word  * '  iron. ' ' 

The  same  may  be  shown  in  regard  to  the  mind's 
act  of  judging  as  expressed  in  the  sentence,  "Anger  is  an 
emotion. ' ' 

The  nature  of  the  mental  process  in  judging,  may 
be  made  more  clear  by  examining  the  negative  form  in 
order  to  determine  whether  the  clearly  expressed  relation 
of  difference  is  really  intended  to  signify  the  existing  na- 
ture of  the  object.  If  this  is  the  case,  all  acts  of  judging 
are,  essentially,  a  consciousness  of  the  unity  of  a  particular 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  219 

and  a  general,  although  the  expression  in  the  sentence  may 
manifest  the  mind's  attention  to  difference,  which  mental 
stage  is  also  present.  The  example  given  above  is,  "This 
fruit  is  not  an  apple." 

The  one  who  uses  the  sentence  evidently  intends  to 
express  the  thought  that  the  fruit  under  consideration  is 
different  from  the  apple,  i.  e.,  that  it  does  not  manifest 
the  characteristics  of  the  class,  apple.  Does  not  the  writer 
thereby  express,  secondarily,  the  unity  of  the  particular, 
this  fruit,  with  the  attribute,  being  different  from  the 
apple  f 

The  foregoing  examples  may  be  examined  further  for 
the  purpose  of  considering  whether  the  mental  act  of  judg- 
ing is  an  awareness  of  the  unity  of  a  particular  object  and 
the  attribute  of  that  object,  or  whether  it  is  a  consciousness 
of  the  relation  of  concepts. 

In  the  judgment  expressed  by  the  sentence,  ' '  This  flower 
is  blue, ' '  does  the  writer  of  it  intend  to  express  his  thought 
that  the  idea  of  the  object  is  in  identity  with  the  idea  of 
the  attribute,  or  is  it  his  purpose  to  express  his  notion  that 
there  is  a  unity  of  the  space-occupying  object  expressed  by 
the  words,  "this  flower,"  and  its  actual  attribute  denoted 
by  the  word,  "blue?" 

The  judgment  has  been  spoken  of  as  "the  assertion  of  a 
relation  between  two  mental  elements."  This  assumes  that 
the  judgment  is  a  mental  process  of  becoming  aware  of 
one  concept,  then  of  another,  and  then  of  their  relation. 
This  seems  too  mechanical,  and  it  always  implies  three  fac- 
tors as  underlying  every  sentence,  e.  g.,  "This  wood  is 
hard."  These  factors  are, 

The  actual  wood,  the  actual  attribute  expressed  by 
the  word,  "hard"  and  the  relation  of  unity. 

The  concept  denoted  by  the  word,  "wood,"  and  the 


220  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

concept  denoted  by  the  word,  "hard,"  and  the  concept  of 
their  unity. 

The  consciousness  of  the  unity  of  the  two  concepts. 

Considered  psychologically,  the  given  sentence  expresses 
the  known  unity  of  the  actual  object  and  the  actual  at- 
tribute of  which  the  person  is  conscious.  This  attribute 
was  abstracted  from  the  complex  object  and  identified  with 
it  at  the  same  time,  for  the  second  and  third  stages  in  the 
act  of  judging  are  practically  contemporaneous. 

What,  psychologically,  is  the  relation  of  the  extent  of 
the  object  expressed  by  the  subject  of  the  sentence,  and  the 
extent  of  the  attribute  expressed  by  the  predicate? 

The  mere  form  of  the  sentence,  sometimes  indicates  that 
the  attribute  may  be  of  wider  extent,  as,  The  pencil  is  hard. 
In  other  cases  the  form  suggests  equality  of  extent,  as,  A 
man's  a  man.  Four  equals  four. 

Considered  as  an  element  in  the  psychological  process, 
the  attribute  denoted  by  the  predicate  appears  to  be  of 
greater  extent  in  all  cases  than  the  object  expressed  by  the 
subject.  This  seems  evident  in  regard  to  the  sentence, 
"The  pencil  is  hard."  Reflection  will  show  that  such  is 
the  case,  also,  in  the  other  examples,  "A  man's  a  man," 
and  "Four  equals  four."  The  word  "man,"  in  the  sub- 
ject means  a  particular  man,  i.  e.,  a  man  with  his  ignorance, 
poverty,  ragged  clothes,  evil  tendencies,  etc.,  while  the 
word,  "man,"  in  the  predicate  denotes  manhood,  or  the 
potentiality  of  manhood.  A  similar  explanation  may  be 
given  for  * '  Four  equals  four. ' ' 

The  fact  that  judgment  is  studied  as  a  development  from 
conception,  does  not  imply  that  this  mode  of  psychological 
activity  is  not  manifested  at  all  in  the  earlier  stages  of  con- 
sciousness. The  mind  is  really  judging  implicitly  in  sensa- 
tion, sense-perception,  memory,  etc.  Even  the  mental  ac- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  221 

tivity  of  the  child  which  is  expressed  in  the  single  word, 
"ball,"  is  the  implicit  judgment,  "This  is  a  ball." 

Why,  then,  is  there  an  explicit  treatment  of  a  special 
form  of  psychical  action  known  as  judgment?  Judgment, 
as  that  form  of  mental  action  which  is  the  stage  succeed- 
ing conception,  is  a  distinctive  form.  It  is  a  judgment  con- 
structed after  the  mind  has  become  somewhat  conceptive 
in  its  thinking  and  it  involves,  consciously,  a  concept  in 
the  predicate.  It  thus  seems  that  the  psychological  activity 
of  judging  is  a  constant  form,  appearing  at  first  implicitly, 
and  afterwards,  explicitly. 

While,  however,  the  judgment  may  be  viewed  as  a  psy- 
chological activity  developing  from  conception,  it  is  in  a 
crude  form  the  mental  state  out  of  which  the  concept 
arises.  This  is  well  shown  by  the  following  from  Angell's 
Psychology,  page  228  :  ' '  All  of  which  seems  to  indicate  with 
no  great  uncertainty  that  the  origin  of  such  a  concept  as 
badness  is  to  be  found  in  mental  processes  which  are 
in  their  nascent  stages  crude,  vague,  undeveloped  judg- 
ments, involving  a  rudimentary  recognition  of  relations  be- 
tween certain  more  or  less  distinct  portions  of  our  experi- 
ence. We  get  at  these  elements  of  experience  mentally  by 
means  of  rudely  distinguished  ideas — in  the  case  of  our 
illustration  the  idea  of  the  act  and  the  idea  of  its  conse- 
quences. Such  concepts  as  this,  i.  e.,  badness,  owe  their 
creation,  then,  to  elaborations  of  already  attained  ideas  in 
a  primitive  form  of  judgment." 

The  judgment  is  more  fundamental  than  conception  be- 
cause, as  noted  above,  it  involves  a  more  extended  conscious- 
ness. In  conception  the  awareness  of  the  unity  is  implicit, 
while  in  judgment  it  has  become  explicit.  This  implies  a 
more  distinct  discrimination  of  the  general  and  the  par- 
ticular. The  general  and  the  particular  also  become  more 
distinct  or  differentiated  in  themselves  in  judgment. 


222  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

The  foregoing  explanation  of  the  psychological  process 
in  judgment  leads  to  an  investigation  of  its  neural  basis. 
This  investigation  may  be  assisted  by  a  study  of  pages  241- 
251  of  AngelPs  Psychology,  and  pages  170-177  of  Thorn- 
dike  's  Elements  of  Psychology. 

The  following  pedagogical  principles  are  among  those 
which  seem  to  be  based  on  the  nature  of  judging : 

1.  To  foster  accurate  habits  of  judging  in  the  pupil  he 
should  be  so  directed  in  work  that  he  will  first  concentrate 
his  attention  on  the  object.     This  will  isolate  it  from  the 
environment. 

2.  He  should  then  be  directed  so  that  he  will  analyze 
the  object,  thus  abstracting  the  included  attribute.    As  he 
becomes  aware  of  this  attribute  he  identifies  it  with  the 
object. 

3.  He  should  then  be  led  to  analyze  the  attribute,  that 
is,  the  general.     It  is  important  to  have  the  pupil  become 
as  clear  as  possible  concerning  the  nature  of  this  attribute 
which  is  in  unity  with  the  object,  because  it  is  by  means 
of  this  clearly  understood  attribute  that  the  nature  of  the 
object  is  to  be  learned. 

4.  His  educational  work  should  also  lead  him  to  com- 
pare the  extent  of  the  attribute  with  that  of  the  object.  This 
means  that  the  pupil  is  to  become  distinctly  conscious  that 
the  attribute,  for  example,  that  expressed  by  the  word, 
"blue,"  belongs  to  many  objects  besides  the  one  under  con- 
sideration, and  that  this  object  is  thereby  identified  to  a 
degree  with  all  the  other  objects  in  which  this  attribute  is 
found. 

5.  The  pupil  should  also  observe  that  this  attribute  is 
narrower  in  a  certain  sense  than  the  total  object,  because 
it  is  only  one  of  the  many  different  aspects  of  the  object. 

6.  The  power  of  judgment  can  be  strengthened  still 
further  by  a  careful  examination  of  sentences.    For  exam- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  223 

pie,  in  studying  the  sentence,  "The  yellow  pine  hardens," 
ability  in  judging  is  increased  by  answering  such  questions 
as,  "What  change  in  the  extent  of  the  object  expressed  by 
the  word,  "pine,"  is  made  by  considering  the  attributes 
expressed  by  the  words,  "yellow"  and  "the,"  as  belong- 
ing to  it  ?  What  attribute  is  expressed  by  the  word,  * '  hard- 
ens"? "Does  this  word  also  denote  the  unity  of  the  ob- 
ject and  the  attribute  ? "  "  How  can  the  predicate  be  given 
so  as  to  express,  explicitly,  both  attribute  and  relation ' '  ? 

7.  The  pupil's  power  of  judgment  may  be  increased  in 
a  very  effective  way  by  having  him  express  a  thought  and 
then,  after  studying  the  expression,  again  express  it  more 
precisely. 

c.     Reasoning. 

The  relation  of  the  particular  object  to  the  universal 
is  explicitly  known  in  judgment.  The  word,  "judgment," 
is  often  used  in  popular  speech  to  signify  the  act  of  rea- 
soning, as  in  the  sentence,  "He  is  a  person  of  excellent 
judgment;"  but  strictly  considered,  the  relation  of  which 
one  is  aware  in  judging  is  not  consciously  mediated.  What 
is  the  advance  in  consciousness  which  mediates  the  rela- 
tion? When,  in  judging,  the  self  discovers  the  unity  of 
the  particular  with  the  general,  it  has  become  aware  of  a 
truth  concerning  the  particular  object.  In  order  that  this 
truth  shall  become  mediated  to  the  mind,  the  consciousness 
of  its  dependence  on  another  truth  must  arise.  The  rela- 
tion or  truth  which  is  known  in  judgment  is  always  an 
element  of  a  larger  truth,  or  this  second  truth  is  the  invari- 
able accompaniment  or  sign  of  the  relation  known  in  the 
act  of  judging.  In  the  mere  act  of  judgment,  however,  this 
other  relation,  which  is  the  ground  or  sign  of  the  relation 
asserted,  is  not  noticed,  at  least  not  explicitly.  If  this  other 
truth  is  observed  and  held  to  be  the  basis  or  sign  of  the  rela- 


224  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

tion  between  the  particular  and  the  generic,  of  which  the 
person  is  conscious  in  judging,  the  relation  is  mediated. 
This  is  the  development  in  consciousness  which  reasoning 
manifests  considered  as  a  stage  of  knowing  which  arises  out 
of  judgment. 

In  judgment  the  idea  that  the  particular  is  in  unity  with 
or  different  from  the  generic  is  in  a  certain  sense  immediate. 
The  function  of  reasoning  is  to  mediate  this  idea.  It  be- 
comes mediated  when  the  person  becomes  conscious  of  the 
basis  of  the  relation,  when  he  knows  why  he  deems  the  rela- 
tion to  be  true.  This  thought  is  expressed  on  page  221  of 
Dewey's  Psychology,  as  follows:  "Reasoning  is  that  act 
of  mind  which  recognizes  those  relations  of  any  content  of 
consciousness  through  which  it  has  the  meaning  which  it 
has,  or  is  what  it  is." 

There  are  three  forms  of  reasoning,  although  they  are 
merely  elements  or  aspects  of  the  one  process. 

Identification. 

This  is  the  inaccurate  reasoning  of  the  un- 
trained thinker  who  notices  but  partially  the  truth  which 
is  supposed  to  be  the  basis  of  the  relation  asserted.  The 
relation  thought  of  in  identification  as  the  ground  of  the 
unity  between  the  particular  and  the  generic  is  characteris- 
tic of  more  relations  than  of  the  one  asserted.  It  may  or 
may  not  be  its  basis  in  the  given  case.  If  one  regards  a 
certain  ground  material  to  be  coffee,  because  it  is  brown 
in  color,  the  act  is  identification. 

The  initial  stage  in  the  process  is  the  creation  of  an  image 
of  the  object.  Identification  is  merely  a  case  of  inaccurate 
induction  or  deduction. 

Induction. 

The  particular  object  in  induction  is  the  en- 
tire class.  The  universal  is  an  attribute  which  is  judged 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  225 

to  belong  to  each  object  of  the  class  and  not  merely  to  those 
which  have  been  examined. 

What  are  the  relations  or  truths  which  are  regarded  as 
the  ground  of  the  identity  of  the  particular  and  the  gen- 
eral of  which  one  is  conscious  in  the  judgment  involved  in 
the  act  Df  induction?  This  may  be  shown  in  an  example. 
Assume  that  one  becomes  conscious  in  an  act  of  induction 
that  "All  adverbs  express  an  attribute  of  an  attribute." 
The  objects  denoted  by  "All  adverbs"  constitute  the  par- 
ticular object;  the  attribute  denoted  by  "express  an  at- 
tribute of  an  attribute"  is  the  general;  the  relation  is  one 
of  unity. 

What  are  the  two  other  relations  which  are  the  ground 
or  sign  of  this  relation?  They  are  (1)  the  unity  of  adverb- 
producing  activity  and  sameness  or  uniformity,  and  (2)  the 
fact  that  the  activity  has  produced  this  one  adverb  with  the 
characteristic  expressed  in  the  predicate..  Thus  the  per- 
son believes  that  the  process  of  producing  the  adverb  is 
always  substantially  the  same  and  he  observes  that  in  this 
case,  it  has  made  the  adverb  possess  the  characteristic  of 
"expressing  an  attribute  of  an  attribute." 

What  are  the  special  stages  in  the  process  of  induction? 
These  have  been  previously  considered  on  page  174,  and 
hence  will  be  but  briefly  noticed  here : 

A  particular  object  (an  adverb)  is  imaged  and  known 
in  the  process  which  has  been  spoken  of  as  the  language  act. 
This  special  process  may  occur  with  many  such  objects. 

The  result  is  that  the  mind  abstracts  an  attribute,  as,  ex- 
pressing an  attribute  of  an  attribute. 

The  objects  are  then  thought  of  as  being  members  of  a 
class.  It  may  be  that  the  name  is  known  and  that  they 
are  understood  to  be  adverbs. 

The  person  who  is  studying  them  then  becomes  aware 
of  the  other  relations  on  which  the  asserted  relation  de- 


226  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

pends;  namely,  that  there  is  a  uniformity  in  the  process 
of  creating  adverbs  and  that  the  process  has  given  to  all 
those  which  have  been  examined  the  characteristic  of  ex- 
pressing an  attribute  of  an  attribute. 

The  inference  is  then  made  that  the  relation  expressed 
in  the  judgment  is  true  because  of  the  truth  asserted  con- 
cerning the  process  of  producing  the  adverb. 

This  completes  the  process,  and  the  relation  expressed  in 
the  judgment  of  the  induction  has  become  mediated. 

The  act  begins  in  the  creation  of  an  image  and  the  func- 
tion of  this  image  is  to  denote  not  especially  the  relation  of 
the  particular  and  the  general,  but  rather  the  relation  of  the 
identity  which  is  asserted  to  the  other  relations,  which  are 
(1)  the  uniformity  of  the  objectifying  process  and  (2)  the 
special  result  of  the  creating  activity  in  this  given  case. 

Induction  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  analytic.  It  isy 
however,  both  synthetic  and  analytic.  It  begins  with  an  in- 
definite knowledge  of  an  object  as  a  whole,  analyzes  the  ob- 
ject in  abstracting  one  of  its  attributes,  identifies  the  object 
with  a  class,  identifies  the  class  with  an  activity  which  is 
uniform  in  its  process  and  by  these  means  synthesizes  the 
particular  object  and  the  isolated  attribute.  If  the  con- 
sciousness of  these  two  relations  which  are  the  basis  of  the 
identity  asserted  in  the  judgment  is  implicit,  induction  may 
be  termed  empirical  or  a  posteriori  reasoning.  If  the  con- 
sciousness is  explicit,  the  induction  may  be  termed  a  prion 
reasoning. 

The  stages  in  an  act  of  induction  are  the  awareness  of 
the  particular  object  as  a  whole  in  an  act  of  sense  percep- 
tion, memory  or  imagination ;  the  abstraction  of  an  attribute 
found  to  be  present;  the  identifying  of  the  object  with  its 
class;  the  identifying  of  sameness  or  uniformity  with  the 
process  which  produces  the  class,  and  the  identifying  of 
the  isolated  attribute  with  all  objects  of  the  class  because 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  227 

the  special  objects  examined  have  received  the  attribute  by 
the  action  of  the  uniform  creating  process. 

The  process  of  induction  is  more  fundamental  than 
judgment  in  that  it  involves  not  only  a  consciousness  of 
the  direct  relation  between  the  particular,  which  is  the 
whole  class,  and  the  general,  but  also  a  knowledge  of  two 
other  relations,  namely,  the  uniformity  of  the  process  and 
its  specific  results  in  this  given  case.  Along  with  this  there 
is  also  a  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  these  two  relations  are 
the  ground  of  the  direct  relation. 

The  pedagogical  implications  in  the  inductive  process 
contain  among  others* the  following: 

1.  The  pupil  should  examine,  as  a  whole,  a  sufficient 
number  of  objects  to  emphasize  the  attribute  which  is  to 
be  abstracted. 

2.  The  attribute  should  then  be  clearly  abstracted  and 
considered. 

3.  Attention  should  then  be  given  to  the  process  and 
to  the  fact  that  it  is  substantially  uniform.     For  example, 
if  the  object  is  a  grain  of  corn  and  the  attribute  to  be  ab- 
stracted is  that  of  possessing  a  pericarp,  the  process  is  corn- 
producing  activity  and  the  pupil  should  be  led  to  notice 
that  it  seems  to  be  practically  uniform.     The  general  uni- 
formity of  processes  in  nature  and  in  the  activities  of  man 
should  be  illustrated  in  examples  that  may  be  easily  under- 
stood. 

4.  Emphasis  should  then  be  given  to  the  special  re- 
sult in  the  given  case  of  this  process  which  is  held  to  be 
uniform,  that  is,  the  fact  should  be  dwelt  upon  that  this 
process  has  manifested  itself  in  this  special  case  by  pro- 
ducing a  given  particular  attribute  and  that  it  is  consid- 
ered to  be  uniform  in  its  mode  of  action. 

5.  The  fact  that  this  abstracted  attribute  is  a  charac- 


228  THK  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

teristie  of  the  class  should  then  be  stated  as  a  law  in  simple 
language. 

6.     The  pupil  should  finally  be  led  to  test  the  law  by 
the  examination  of  new  cases. 

The  general  result  should  be  that  the  pupil  would  tend 
to  experience  dissatisfaction  if  he  were  not  given  an  op- 
portunity to  examine  an  adequate  number  of  objects  in 
order  to  discover  the  law  and  afterwards  to  study  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  new  cases  to  test  it. 

Deduction. 

This  process  is  merely  one  aspect  of  reasoning,  in- 
duction being  the  other.  The  result  of  induction  is 
that  the  self  has  become  aware  of  a  general  truth  or 
law  of  the  class.  This  has  enriched  the  mind's  past  ex- 
perience, which  is  always  employed  in  knowing  new  ob- 
jects or  new  truths  about  old  objects.  The  employment  of 
this  general  idea  which  the  mind  has  discovered  in  its  in- 
ductive process,  to  answer  an  inquiry  about  a  particular 
object  is  deduction.  The  assumption  is  that  the  object  is 
not  accessible  and  hence  can  not  be  examined,  or  that  for 
some  reason  it  is  not  advisable  to  examine  it  directly  to  the 
extent  necessary  to  ascertain  whether  it  possesses  the  in- 
quired-for  attribute.  The  particular  object  in  deduction 
is,  therefore,  some  single  existence  and  not  a  class. 

The  deductive  process  begins  with  the  idea  of  this  par- 
ticular object  as  a  whole. 

This  idea  stimulates  the  mind  to  abstract  or  isolate  some 
attribute  and  to  inquire  whether  the  object  is  characterized 
by  this  given  attribute. 

Since  there  is  no  direct  way  of  determining  whether  the 
object  possesses  the  attribute,  the  mind  proceeds  to  identify 
the  object  with  a  class  suggested  by  other  attributes  which 
are  obviously  present.  It  is  the  assumption  that  the  act 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  229 

of  identifying  it  with  that  particular  class  will  give  special 
aid  in  knowing  whether  the  inquired-for  characteristic  be- 
longs to  the  particular  object.  It  would  not  suffice  to  class 
the  particular  object  with  any  class  whatever.  The  person 
engaged  in  the  deductive  act  knows  his  own  purpose  and  he 
will  naturally  be  impelled  to  identify  the  object  with  a  class, 
the  consideration  of  which  will  further  the  investigation. 

The  act  of  classing  the  object  is  succeeded  by  an 
analysis  of  the  class  to  which  it  has  been  referred  in  order 
to  have  clearly  in  consciousness  the  essential  characteristics 
since  this  will  give  opportunity  to  notice  whether  the  in- 
quired-for attribute  is  among  the  characteristics  of  the 
class. 

The  result  of  this  analysis  may  be  that  the  attribute 
which  was  inquired  for  is  not  found  among  the  essential 
characteristics.  In  such  a  case,  the  mind  considers  that  at- 
tribute to  be  lacking  in  the  particular  object.  This  last  act 
is  the  conclusion,  or  the  deductive  judgment. 

What  are  the  related  truths,  the  consciousness  of  which 
has  mediated  the  truth  asserted  in  the  deductive  judgment  ? 
One  is  the  fact  that  the  inquired-for  attribute  is  not  an 
essential  characteristic  of  the  class.  The  other  is  the  iden- 
tity of  this  object  with  the  class. 

In  order  to  illustrate  the  process,  let  the  following  activi- 
ties be  assumed:  The  mind  becomes  conscious  of  a  certain 
grain.  This  is  knowing  it  as  a  whole.  The  mind  then,  in- 
fluenced by  some  external  stimulus  or  idea,  abstracts,  i  e., 
centers  its  attention  on  a  certain  attribute,  as,  having  an  en- 
dopleura,  and  begins  to  think  whether  this  grain  possesses 
such  a  coat.  In  order  to  answer  this  question  the  grain 
must  be  identified  with  some  class  which  its  obvious  attrib- 
utes suggest,  provided  such  identity  will  aid  in  the  answer, 
as  will  usually  be  the  case  if  the  object  is  thoughtfully  class- 
ed. In  the  given  case,  the  fact  that  the  grain  is  wedge 


230  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

shaped  and  that  it  has  an  indentation  on  one  side  at  the 
scutellum  are  noticed  and  in  consequence,  the  grain  is 
classed  as  a  grain  of  corn.  The  mind  then  remembers  the 
general  truth  concerning  the  arrangement  of  coats  in  grains 
of  corn  which  it  has  acquired  in  previous  inductions, 
namely,  that  grains  of  corn  possess  two  coats  only,  the 
pericarp  and  a  slight  testa. 

This  leads  to  the  judgment  that  the  grain  being  consid- 
dered  has  no  endopleura.  This  ends  the  deductive  process. 
Its  result  concerns  one  object  only. 

In  deduction  the  mind  is  synthetic  in  first  becoming  aware 
of  the  object  as  undifferentiated ;  it  then  becomes  analytic 
in  abstracting  the  inquired-f or  attribute ;  the  process  is  then 
synthetic  in  the  act  of  classing  the  object ;  it  then  becomes 
analytic  in  distinguishing  the  class  into  its  essential  charac- 
teristics; the  process  is  finally  synthetic  in  the  concluding 
judgment,  and  in  identifying  the  truth  expressed  in  the 
judgment,  (1)  with  the  idea  that  grains  of  corn  possess  no 
endopleura,  and  (2)  with  the  idea  that  this  is  a  grain  of 
corn. 

If  the  consciousness  of  the  relation  of  the  truth  expressed 
in  the  judgment  to  the  other  relations  that  are  its  basis  is 
implicit,  deductive  reasoning  is  empirical  or  a  posteriori. 
If  the  consciousness  of  this  relation  is  explicit,  the  reason- 
ing is  a  priori. 

The  two  aspects  of  the  one  process  of  reasoning  are,  con- 
sidered as  a  unit,  a  procedure  from  a  somewhat  fused  par- 
ticular through  a  general  to  a  more  clearly  known  particu- 
lar. This  is  also  the  process  in  each  aspect,  although,  if 
superficially  noticed,  induction  seems  to  be  merely  a  pro- 
cedure from  the  particular  to  the  general  and  deduction  a 
procedure  from  the  general  to  the  particular. 

The  fact  that  the  identity  asserted  in  both  the  deductive 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 


231 


and  the  inductive  judgment  is  grounded  on  other  relations 
gives  rise  to  the  syllogism  so  much  emphasized  in  logic. 

Deduction  is,  as  a  process,  less  vital  and  fundamental 
than  induction  because  it  seems  to  be  concerned  with  ac- 
complished results  rather  than  with  producing  activities, 
and  results  are  always  less  universal  than  the  creative 
energy  which  gives  rise  to  them.  Deduction  is  more  funda- 
mental than  judgment  in  that  it  involves  not  merely  a  judg- 
ment, but  also  a  consciousness  of  the  relation  of  the  identity 
asserted  in  the  judgment  to  two  other  relations  oi?  identity ; 
namely,  the  identity  of  the  whole  class  with  the  essential 
characteristic  and  the  identity  of  the  particular  object  with 
the  class. 

It  would  be  advantageous  to  give  attention,  at  this  stage, 
to  the  neural  basis  of  reasoning. 

Among  the  pedagogical  principles  which  may  be  traced 
to  deduction  the  following  should  be  noticed: 

1.  The  essential  characteristics  of  any  class  of  objects 
should  be  clearly  distinguished  from  those  that  are  merely 
common,  and  also  from  the  unessential  characteristics. 

2.  The  learner  should  be  led  to  notice  carefully  what 
the  inquiry  concerning  the  object  is.     For  example,  in  re- 
gard to  the  rrrain  which  was  observed  he  should  emphasize 
the  fact    that  the  inquiry  concerned  itself  with  the  coats 
of  the  grain,  and  particularly,  as  to  whether  it  possessed  the 
coat  called  endopleura. 

3.  He  must  then  be  made  aware  that  he  must  know  two 
things  in  order  to  answer  the  question;  namely,  the  class 
to  which  the  object  belongs,  corn,  and  the  characteristic  of 
the  class  in  regard  to  coats,  i.  e,,  that  it  has  two  coats  only, 
the  pericarp  and  the  testa. 

4.  He  should  be  given  exercises  that  will  improve  his 
ability  to  select  promptly  and  accurately  the  special  at- 
tribute or  attributes  that  indicate  the  class  of  the  object. 


232  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

For  example,  in  regard  to  the  grain  of  corn,  he  should  ob- 
serve that  two  attributes,  especially,  are  helpful  in  classing 
it;  namely,  its  wedge-like  shape  and  the  indentation  upon 
the  side. 

To  render  the  various  processes  of  knowing  concrete,  the 
student  should  examine  them  as  manifested  in  the  acts  of 
the  pupils  during  their  recitations.  For  example,  the  les- 
sons presented  to  the  children  in  the  different  subjects,  and 
in  the  various  grades,  should  be  observed  in  order  to  note 
the  psychical  processes  put  forth  by  the  children  in  becom- 
ing acquainted  with  the  subject-matter  presented. 

The  object  of  each  act  of  knowing,  i.  e.,  that  which  is  be- 
ing known  in  each  process  should  be  clearly  distinguished 
in  these  attempts  to  interpret  the  lessons  which  are  ob- 
served. 

A  form  for  recording  the  results  of  the  observation,  which 
may  be  suggestive,  is  given  in  Appendix  II. 

The  Function  of  the  Image. 

On  pages  158-159  the  nature  of  the  image  is  briefly  ex- 
plained, and  in  the  first  paragraph  of  the  treatment  of  con- 
ception, page  204,  of  Dewey's  Psychology,  a  distinction  is 
made  between  the  image  or  particular  mental  act  and  its 
function.  The  author  indicates  that  perception  does  not 
differ  from  conception  on  account  of  the  difference  in  the 
particular  image,  but  rather  on  account  of  a  difference  in 
the  function  or  meaning  which  the  image  has. 

It  may  be  of  advantage  to  show  this  distinction  through- 
out the  series  of  intellectual  activities : 

Sense-perception — An  act  in  which  the  mind  constructs  a 
particular  image  or  state,  and  then  interprets  it  to  mean  a 
present  particular  object. 

Memory — An  act  in  which  the  mind  re-creates  a  particu- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  233 

lar  mental  state  or  image,  and  then  interprets  it  to  mean  a 
particular  object  once  present  but  not  present  now. 

Imagination — An  act  in  which  the  mind  creates  a  partic- 
ular image,  and  then  interprets  it  to  mean  a  particular 
object  not  present  now  and  at  no  time  present. 

The  Language  Act — An  act  in  which  the  mind  constructs 
a  particular  image  appropriate  to  language  and  meaning, 
or  to  meaning  and  language,  and  then  interprets  it  to  sig- 
nify that  the  language  symbolizes  the  meaning.  Thus,  the 
image  denotes  that  identity  of  language  and  meaning  which 
may  be  referred  to  as  the  relation  of  sign  and  thing  signi- 
fied. 

Understanding. 

Apprehending — The  mind 's  act  of  creating  a  particular 
image  and  then  interpreting  it,  indistinctly,  to  signify  the 
meaning  of  the  object. 

Distinguishing. 

Abstracting — The  mind's  act  of  creating  a  particular 
mental  state  or  image,  and  then  interpreting  it  to  mean  an 
isolated  element  in  the  meaning  of  the  object. 

Discriminating — The  mind's  act  of  creating  a  particu- 
lar mental  state  or  image,  and  then  interpreting  the  image 
to  mean  the  difference  of  the  two  or  more  objects  being 
contemplated,  notwithstanding  their  unity  in  a  single  men- 
tal activity. 

Comparing — The  mind's  act  of  constructing  a  particu- 
lar mental  state  or  image,  and  then  interpreting  the  image 
to  mean  the  unity  of  the  two  or  more  objects  discriminated 
in  regard  to  some  selected  common  attribute. 

Classifying. 

Generalizing — The  mind's  act  of  creating  a  particular 
image,  and  then  interpreting  it  to  mean  the  unity  of  the  ob- 
ject with  the  class. 

Analyzing    the    object    into    cause    and    effect — The 


234  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

mind 's  act  of  creating  a  particular  state  or  image,  and  then 
interpreting  it  to  mean  the  object  as  distinguished  into 
cause  and  effect. 

Discovering   the    structural    idea    of    an    object — The 
mind's  act  of  creating  a  particular  mental  state  or  image, 
and  then  interpreting  this  image  to  mean  the  activity  or 
idea  revealed  in  each  aspect  of  the  object. 
Ratiocination. 

Conceiving — The  mind 's  act  of  creating  a  particular 
mental  state  or  image,  and  then  interpreting  this  image  to 
signify  the  universal  creative  activity  underlying  the  given 
object  and  all  others  of  its  class,  the  prominent  subordinate 
modes  of  the  creative  activity,  and  the  fact  that  each  ob- 
ject manifests  the  producing  activity,  i.  e.,  that  each  par- 
ticular is  generic. 

Judging — The  mind's  act  of  creating  a  particular  state 
or  image,  and  then  interpreting  the  image  to  signify  the  re- 
lation existing  between  an  isolated  attribute  and  the  re- 
mainder of  the  object  from  which  the  attribute  has  been 
isolated. 

Reasoning. 

Identifying — The  mind's  act  of  creating  a  particu- 
lar mental  state  or  image,  and  then  interpreting  the  image 
to  mean  that  the  object  being  known  belongs  to  a  class  on 
the  basis  of  an  attribute  pertaining  not  only  to  that  class, 
but  to  other  classes. 

Inductive  reasoning — The  mind's  act  of  creating  a 
particular  image,  and  then  interpreting  the  image  to  signify 
that  the  attribute  isolated  from  an  object,  or  a  number  of 
objects,  belongs  to  all  the  objects  of  the  class,  on  account 
of  its  relation  to  the  fact  that  producing  activity  is  uni- 
form in  its  process  and  to  the  additional  fact  that  it  has 
produced  the  object  or  objects  examined  as  possessing  the 
isolated  attribute. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  235 

Deductive  reasoning — The  mind's  act  of  creating  a 
particular  image,  and  then  interpreting  the  image  to  signify 
that  a  certain  general  characteristic  known  to  belong  to  the 
class  in  which  this  object  is  found  is  in  identity  with  the  ob- 
ject.* 

THE  LESSON. 

A  true  lesson  is  an  art  product,  because  it  has  a  predom- 
inant activity  (the  Universal)  and  objective  elements  which 
adequately  exhibit,  or  stimulate  and  guide  that  activity  (the 
Particular). 

The  Universal.     The  predominant  activity  or  universal 
is  in  the  pupil's  mind.     It  is  the  essential  process  of  his 
mind  in  learning,  that  is,  in  rendering  an  object  subjective 
or  known. 
The  mental  process  in  the  child  is  as  follows : 

1.  He  experiences  a  feeling  of  limit. 

2.  He  then  apprehends  indistinctly  the  object  as  a  whole. 

3.  As  he  does  this  he  imagines  himself  as  understand- 
ing the  object. 

4.  On  account  of  the  consciousness  of  the  two  diverse 
selves  (the  real  and  the  potential)  he  experiences  feelings 
of  dissatisfaction  and  satisfaction. 

5.  He  desires  the  potential  or  ideal  self. 

6.  He  gradually  changes  this  desire  into  purpose. 

1.  In  order  to  accomplish  this  purpose,  he  analyzes  the 
object  which  was  indistinctly  apprehended  in  the  second 
stage  into  its  elements  or  distinctions. 

8.  He  then  reconsiders  the  various  distinctions  in  order 
to  discover  the  predominant  distinction.  This  is  continued 
until  the  characteristic  element  is  known. 


*  The  outline  of  psychologcial  activities  on  pp.  177-23!  has  been  directly  suggested 
by  the  the  treatment  of  the  intellectual  process  in  '•''Psychology  and  the  Psychosis^ 
by  Denton  J.  Snider,  Sigma  Publishing  Co.,  2iO  Pine  Street,  St.  Louis. 


236  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

9.  He  concludes  by  judging  the  other  elements  as  to 
their  relation  to  this  central  element. 

This  mental  process  indicated  as  exhibiting  itself  in  a 
series  of  successive  stages  is  the  universal  in  a  lesson  because 
it  is  the  form  of  consciousness  to  be  awakened  in  any  case 
of  learning. 

In  school  work  it  is  seldom  that  the  activities,  1  to  6,  re- 
quire direct  stimulation.  The  process  in  a  lesson  usually 
involves  2  slightly,  7  distinctly  and  with  considerable  con- 
tinuity, and  8  and  9  in  the  form  of  organization  or  re-uni- 
fying. 

The  process  noted  in  7  may  require  a  series  of  lessons. 
In  that  case  each  distinction  becomes  a  whole  in  itself  and 
stimulates  the  universal  process.  The  elements  of  the  pro- 
cess involved  in  8  and  9  are  more  brief  but  more  difficult. 
They  are  not  infrequently  neglected,  and  as  a  rule,  even 
when  stimulated,  they  are  inaccurate  and  incomplete. 

The  Particular.  A  lesson,  as  a  work  of  art,  requires,  how- 
ever, not  merely  a  universal,  but  also  a  particular  aspect 
which  adequately  exhibits  or  stimulates  and  guides  the  uni- 
versal. This  particular  consists  of,' 

1.  The  subject-matter  or  the  material  acted  upon.     It  is 
the  exercise-ground  for  the  learning  mind. 

2.  The  acts  of  the  teacher.     These  are  to  be  considered 
in  a  comprehensive  sense  as  including  bearing,  assignment, 
questions,  explanation,  encouragement,  etc. 

3.  The  acts  of  the  pupil.     These  are  replies,  explana- 
tions, questions,  etc.     They  reveal  to  the  teacher  the  condi- 
tion of  the  universal  process.    They  also  increase  the  pupil 's 
knowledge  of  the  object. 

4.  Analogous  environment.     The  environment  referred 
to  as  a  stimulant  to  the  universal  process  is  analogous 
both  the  subject-matter  and  the  universal  process.     If,  foi 
example,  the  subject  matter  is  the  embarkation  for  Troy, 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  237 

pictures  of  Greek  ships,  of  the  gods  and  goddesses,  the  walls 
of  Troy,  etc.,  would  constitute  an  analogous  environment. 

THE  ESSENTIAL  ELEMENTS  IN  A  LESSON. 

The  subject-matter.  This  constitutes  the  first  of  the  five 
essential  elements  in  an  organized  lesson.  In  its  definite 
form  the  subject-matter  is  a  direct  result  of  the  principle  or 
process  of  self-determination  in  the  form  of  knowing.  The 
subject-matter  must  be  expressed  so  as  to  indicate  both  the 
general  and  special  aspects.  The  general  indicates  the  ma- 
terial and  the  special  expresses  the  particular  attribute  to 
be  emphasized  in  the  given  lesson. 

It  may  be  of  advantage  to  the  student  to  indicate  the  sub- 
ject-matter in  the  material  expressed  in  the  following  as- 
signment for  a  lesson  based  on  an  extract  from  The  Hia- 
watha Primer:  (The  class  considering  the  extract  belonged 
to  the  third  grade  in  a  rural  school.) 

Draw  one  line  under  the  word  in  every  sentence  used  to 
express  what  is  being  talked  about: — 

The  cradle  was  safely  bound. 

Nokomis  bound  it  with  sinews  of  the  reindeer. 

Hiawatha  rocked  in  his  cradle. 

He  was  in  the  wigwam  of  his  grandmother. 

It  was  dark  and  he  was  fretful. 

Nokomis  stilled  his  fretful  wail. 

She  was  singing  of  the  forest. 

She  said  the  bear  lived  there. 

She  called  him  the  Naked  Bear. 

Nokomis  rocked  the  cradle  of  Hiawatha,  saying, 
' '  Hush !  the  bear  will  hear  thee ! 
Hush !  the  Naked  Bear  will  hear  thee ! ' ' 

The  Assignment. — The  statement  of  the  subject-matter 
usually  awakens  the  thought  of  one  differentiation  only.  The 
assignment  leads  to  the  thought  of  more  than  one  distinc- 


238  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

tion.  Hence,  in  constructing  the  assignment,  the  teacher 
is  differentiating  the  subject-matter  more  fully  than  in  the 
process  of  discovering  the  general  and  the  particular. 

The  difference  between  the  subject-matter  and  the  as- 
signment may  be  shown  by  examples : 

In  history — 

I.  Subject-matter.     The  actual  growth  of  the  spiritual 
Attitude  of  the  American  people  as  revealed  by  the  events 
•concerning  slavery  during  Jackson 's  administration. 

II.  Assignment. — 

1.  The  condition  of  the  public  mind  concerning 
slavery  just  prior  to  Jackson 's  adminstration. 

2.  The  slavery  problem  during  Jackson's  adminis- 
tration. 

a.  Cause. 

In  the  north. 

Physical. 

Spiritual. 
In  the  south. 

Physical. 

Spiritual. 

b.  Development. 

Through  Garrison. 
What  he  did. 
Results : 

On  the  north. 
Physical. 
Spiritual. 
On  the  south. 
Physical. 
Spiritual. 

c.  Results. 

Immediate. 
Remote. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  239 

Montgomery,  paragraphs,  262,  263,  264. 
McMaster,  paragraph  333. 
In  grammar — 

I.  Subject-matter.     The  basis  of  the  classification  of 
verbs  into  transitive  and  intransitive. 

II.  Assignment. — 

1.  Tell  the  nature  of  the  attribute  expressed  by  each 
verb  in  the  following  sentences. 

2.  Classify  the  verbs  on  the  basis  of  the  nature  of 
the  attribute  expressed. 

Age  shakes  Athena's  tower  but  spares  gray  Marathon. 

Every  plant  demands  good  soil. 

The  beams  of  the  moon  struggled  through  the  rain. 

The  setting  sun  threw  a  flush  over  nature. 

Time  passes  quickly. 

A  comparison  of  the  subject-matter  and  the  assignment  in 
the  two  cases  will  show  that  the  latter  has  as  its  function  to 
awaken  attention  to  more  distinctions  than  were  suggested 
by  the  statement  of  the  subject-matter. 

In  addition  the  assignment  is  intended  to  indicate  the 
order  of  the  distinctions,  and,  to  a  degree,  their  co-ordina- 
tion and  subordination. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  detailed  enough  to  enable  the 
pupil  to  recite  from  it  alone,  as  such  recitation  tends  to  ren- 
der the  lesson  spiritless.  There  must  be  opportunity  for  the 
animation  arising  from  the  teacher's  active  test,  guidance 
and  co-operation. 

The  assignment  is  most  closely  a  stimulus  to  the  first 
process  in  self-determination — the  indistinct  apprehension 
of  the  subject-matter.  Still,  it  fosters  a  transition  into  the 
second  stage.  Viewed  with  reference  to  the  universal  process 
in  a  lesson,  it  is  a  device  to  arouse  the  second  stage  and  to 
promote  a  transition  into  the  seventh. 


240  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

The  purpose  of  the  assignment  is  to  awaken  an  indistinct 
consciousness  of 

1.  The  main  material  of  the  lesson. 

2.  The  salient  distinctions. 

3.  The  central  attribute  or  characteristic  with  refer- 
ence to  which  the  subject-matter  is  to  be  examined. 

4.  The  order  of  the  distinctions. 

In  addition  to  this,  its  aim  is  to  stimulate  and  direct  the 
discovery  of  further  distinctions. 

Thus,  the  assignment,  while  related  most  immediately  to 
the  first  process  in  self-determination,  is  a  strong  stimulus 
to  the  second.  It  even  promotes  the  third  process,  to  a  de- 
gree. 

It  would  be  helpful  to  examine  the  two  assignments  given 
above  in  order  to  note  their  relation  to  the  process  of  self- 
determination  and  to  decide  what  changes,  if  any,  can  be 
made  in  order  that  they  may  conform  more  closely  to  the 
purpose  of  an  assignment. 

Attention  should  also  be  given  to  the  relative  advantages 
of, 

The  written  and  the  oral  assignment. 

The  assignment  given  at  the  beginning  and  that  given  at 
the  close  of  the  lesson. 

The  Steps. — The  third  element  in  the  structure  of  a  lesson 
is  spoken  of,  in  a  figurative  sense,  as  the  Steps.  According 
to  the  Herbartian  pedagogy,  the  step  is  the  external  activity 
of  the  teacher  and  manifests  itself  in  five  successive  stages. 
The  stages  are  called  the  five  Formal  Steps. 

The  term  step  as  here  employed,  however,  signifies  the 
psychological  activity  of  the  learner.  It  denotes  the  second 
stage  in  self-determination — the  separation  or  special  act  of 
the  learner's  consciousness.  This  step  must,  however, 
since  it  is  the  process  of  the  self,  involve  more  or  less  dis- 
tinctly all  three  stages  of  the  essential  movement  of  con- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  241 

sciousness.  It  is  important  to  remember  that  each  step  in 
a  lesson  is  not  only  a  determination,  but  a  ^/-determina- 
tion, because  this  brings  into  prominence  the  fact  that 
some  degree  of  independence  or  origination  is  present. 
The  more  fully  the  process  is  an  example  of  the  learner's 
initiative  or  independence  the  more  clearly  is  it  self-deter- 
mination. Whatever  of  truth  the  pupil  really  grasps,  he 
must  recreate  or  earn.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  induction 
seems  to  be  more  independent,  more  clearly  ^/-determina- 
tion than  does  deduction.  Neither  is,  however,  the  com- 
plete process  of  self-determination.  Each  is  merely  one 
aspect  of  it.  The  scientific  method  involves,  as  essential 
elements,  both  induction  and  deduction,  but  the  first  is  the 
more  characteristic,  because  it  manifests  the  creative  or  in- 
dependent tendency  the  more  strongly.  It  is  a  mark  of  ar- 
tistic teaching,  therefore,  when  considering  the  character- 
istic step  of  a  lesson  to  ask, 

1.  Is  this  characteristic  step  essentially  inductive? 

2.  How  may  it  be  made  strongly  inductive? 

The  characteristic  step  of  a  lesson  is  the  learner's  ac- 
tivity involved  in  the  comprehension  of  the  truth  in  the 
subject-matter. 

This  characteristic  step  arises  through  subordinate  steps 
which  constitute  its  stages.  For  example,  in  a  given  les- 
son the  characteristic  step  may  be  the  act  of  conceiving  and 
the  subordinate  steps  may  be  the  feeling  of  limit,  sense- 
perceiving,  etc. 

In  the  most  comprehensive  view  the  characteristic  step  of 
a  lesson  can  differentiate  into  three  subordinate  steps  only,. 

1.  The  indistinct  apprehension  of  the  object  as  a  whole. 

2.  The  discovery  of  all  of  the  distinctions  in  the  object 
appropriate  to  the  pupil's  stage  of  development,  regarding 
each  distinction  as  independent  or  isolated. 

3.  The  selection  of  the  central  distinction,  and  the  or- 


242  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

ganization  of  the  object  by  becoming  aware  of  the  relation 
of  the  other  distinctions  to  the  main  distinction  or  attribute. 

In  a  more  analytic  view  the  steps  are  the  stages  in  the 
full  process  of  a  lesson  indicated  on  page  235. 

In  a  still  more  special  sense  a  step  in  a  lesson  is  any  one 
of  the  activities  of  the  self  in  rendering  subjective  the  ob- 
ject to  be  learned.  These,  in  so  far  as  the  acts  of  knowing 
are  concerned,  are  indicated  on  pages  177-231.  Each  step 
consists  of  process  and  meaning  or  of  form  and  content.  To 
render  the  characteristic  step  or  any  subordinate  step  defi- 
nite both  form  and  content  should  be  given. 

The  Purpose. — The  purpose  in  life  may  be  said  to  be  the 
establishment  of  the  habit  of  freely  choosing  freedom  itself 
for  the  self  and  others  equally.  To  possess  this  habit  is  to 
have  freedom  both  in  form  and  in  content.  The  freedom 
which  is  to  be  chosen  is, 

1.  A  mode  of  knowing  which  promotes  the  independ- 
ence, the  development  of  all  selves. 

2.  Satisfaction  in  a  condition  indicating  a  development 
of  all. 

3.  A  tendency  toward  rational  choice  in  every  one. 

4.  A  skillful,  disciplined  body  for  every  one. 

The  purpose  in  the  teacher  is  the  act  of  choosing  a  certain 
condition  of  freedom  in  the  pupil.  This  condition  of  free- 
dom in  the  pupil  is  to  be  brought  about  by  his  own  activity 
in  mastering  the  subject-matter  of  the  lesson.  This  act  of 
rendering  subjective  the  subject  matter  of  the  lesson  is  the 
second  stage  of  self-determination  as  explained  on  page  154, 
and  the  tendency  or  effect  produced  by  the  activity  upon 
the  subject-matter  is  the  third  stage. 

The  subject-matter  of  any  single  lesson  is  always  a  frag- 
ment of  the  immediate  larger  whole. 

This  is  the  basis  for  the  distinction  of  the  purpose,  in  so 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  243 

far  as  it  relates  to  knowledge,  into  the  special  purpose  and 
the  general  purpose. 

The  special  purpose  is  to  stimulate  in  the  pupil  the  exist- 
ence of  the  adequate  idea  of  the  subject-matter  as  a  habit. 
In  any  given  case  this  idea  must  be  stated  definitely  by  in- 
dicating both  form  and  content. 

The  general  purpose  is  to  awaken  in  the  learner  the  ade- 
quate idea  of  the  immediate  larger  whole.  This  is  partly 
accomplished  in  any  one  lesson.  Its  complete  accomplish- 
ment requires  the  given  lesson  and  one  or  more  additional 
lessons. 

The  statement  of  the  special  and  general  purpose  must 
not  merely  echo  that  of  the  subject-matter,  but  the  thought 
of  the  subject-matter  should  be  rendered  somewhat  more 
definite  by  that  indicated  in  the  statement  of  the  purpose. 

Since  the  special  subject-matter  of  a  lesson  is  a  fragment 
of  many  larger  immediate  subjects,  the  statement  of  the  gen- 
eral purpose  by  the  teacher  to  himself  is  necessary  to  insure 
the  emphasis  of  the  relations  unifying  the  special  subject- 
matter  with  the  selected  larger  whole. 

The  freedom  which  was  said  to  be  the  aim  of  life  is  to  be 
attained, 

1.  "By  elevating  the  individual  to  his  species."    He  is 
to  reproduce  in  himself  the  achievements  of  man. 

2.  "By  making  habitual  in  the  individual  activities  that 
reinforce  rational  institutions  and  which,  in  consequence, 
the  rational  institutions  can  afford  to  reinforce." 

These  two  statements  are  merely  different  forms  express- 
ing the  same  meaning. 

In  interpreting  a  lesson  as  to  the  effect  purposed  the 
teacher  or  observer  should, 

1.  Indicate,  in  definite  mental  terms  the  special  effect 
purposed. 


244  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

2.  Identify  it  with  freedom,  according  to  either  of  the 
above  statements. 

3.  Explain  briefly  the  identity. 

Devices. — A  device  is  not  merely  some  object,  as  a  map,  or 
a  box  of  geometrical  forms.  It  is  not  merely  a  picture,  a 
drawing  or  an  outline.  It  is  essentially  an  outward  act  of 
the  teacher,  as  a  question,  a  direction,  an  explanation,  a 
commendation,  the  use  of  a  map,  the  production  and  use  of 
a  drawing.  A  device  may  include  a  question  or  direction 
of  the  teacher,  a  reply  or  work  at  blackboard  by  the  pupil 
and  the  discussion  of  the  reply  or  of  the  work. 

1.  The  central  requirement  of  a  device  is  that  its  effect 
shall  be  to  concentrate  the  pupil's  attention  on  the  object  be- 
ing studied  and  its  relations,  rather  than  upon  his  language, 
his  manner,  the  degree  of  success  he  is  attaining,  the  effect 
upon  his  mental  development,  or  the  impression  he  is  mak- 
ing. The  artistic  device  is  one  that  leads  the  pupil  to  be- 
come objective,  to  lose  himself  in  the  object  and  its  rela- 
tions. 

The  teacher  is  assumed  to  know  that  knowledge  is  not 
the  end,  but  that  inspiration,  insight,  character,  constitute 
the  end.  Still,  this  is  not  to  be  the  attitude  of  the  pupil  in 
the  recitation.  The  device  should  aid  him  in  becoming  en- 
grossed in  the  object  being  investigated. 

This  characteristic  of  device  is  based  on  the  idea  that  all 
true  development  in  the  pupil  is  due  to  the  concentration  of 
his  interests  in  something  which  seems  to  be  other  than 
himself.  The  doctrine  implied  in  this  function  of  devices  is 
self -estrangement.  (Philosophy  of  Education,  by  Rosen- 
kranz,  pp.  27-28.)  Self -estrangement  is  the  second  stage 
in  the  law  of  the  self.  The  aim  is  to  enrich  the  mind  of  the 
learner  by  having  the  strange  object  become  familiar.  Thus 
the  central  characteristic  of  all  devices  rests  upon  the  total 
process  of  consciousness  in  that  it  assumes  a  potential  or 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  245 

unspecialized  condition  in  so  far  as  the  strange  element  in 
the  object  is  concerned,  stimulates  directly  a  concentration 
upon  the  alien  feature  of  the  object  and  thus  contributes  to 
the  enrichment  of  the  self  which  returns  from  the  estrange- 
ment. 

The  nature  of  the  central  characteristic  of  devices  makes 
it  evident  that  they  should  harmonize  with  the  following 
thought : 

a.  That  the  ideal  in  education  is  the  total  experience 
of  humanity  and  not  merely  knowledge.   It  is  not  enough 
for  the  pupil  to  gain  a  knowledge  of  the  main  facts  con- 
cerning the  Emancipation  Proclamation.     The  aim  must  be 
to  have  him  experience,  to  a  degree,  in  his  particular  life, 
the  total  process  of  the  race  in  objectifying  itself  in  that 
event. 

b.  That  the  change  or  determination  to  be  brought 
about  in  the  child  is  to  be  se£/-determination.     His  attitude 
must  not  be  that  of  passivity.    His  initiative  and  choice,  his 
modes  of  expression  and  explanation,  are  to  be  given  en- 
couragement as  fully  as  the  development  contemplated  in 
the  lesson  will  permit.     The  tendencies  to  inquire  and  to 
test  are  to  be  fostered.    For  example,  he  is  to  be  given  free- 
dom from  the  text  by  a  series  of  devices  that  will  develop 
the  power  to  wrest  meaning  from  the  text.     Otherwise  he 
will  become  passive.     The  ability  to  grapple  with  a  difficult 
sentence  or  paragraph  and  to  interpret  it  by  an  intelligent 
process  of  study  is  an  important  form  of  se^-determination. 

c.  That  the  pupil's  process  or  method  in  his  de- 
velopment is  at  once  negative  and  positive.     It  is  the  renun- 
ciation of  inaccuracy  and  caprice  in  any  given  instance  and 
the  active  reproduction  of  the  positive  experience  of  the  race 
in  regard  to  the  same  instance.    For  example,  the  pupil  may 
have  the  habit  indicated  in  the  following:  ''If  any  one 
wishes  to  read  some  one  of  a  number  of  books  and  they  can 


246  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

find  no  time  to  read  them  they  will  become  discouraged." 
To  establish  the  pupil's  education  in  regard  to  the  appro- 
priate language  in  this  case  requires  both  a  negative  and  a 
positive  process,  and  the  latter  is  in  harmony  with  the  cul- 
ture of  the  race.  This  negative  and  positive  process  is  es- 
sential in  all  aspects  of  education.  To  be  educated  by  a 
study  of  the  Tories  of  the  Revolution,  their  negative  and 
their  positive  traits  must  be  understood.  To  obtain  a  true 
development  from  an  investigation  of  a  virtue,  as  truth- 
telling,  of  a  church  service,  as  a  prayer-meeting,  of  the  his- 
tory of  a  political  party,  the  process  must  be  one  which 
brings  into  consciousness  the  negative  and  the  positive. 

d.  That  the  teacher  must  identify  himself  as  fully 
as  possible  with  the  pupil  in  his  struggle  to  know  the  object 
being  investigated.     The  pupil  has  his  dim  vision,  his  par- 
tial insight,  his  separative  attitude,  his  distrust  of  his  own 
powers,  his  dependence  upon  words. 

The  teacher  must  reproduce  these  mental  conditions  in  his 
own  consciousness  as  they  are  manifested  from  time  to  time 
in  the  lesson.  Then  he  must  project  them  and  identify  them 
with  the  pupil,  thus  realizing  strongly  within  himself  that 
they  are  actual  conditions  of  the  pupil's  mind.  He  must 
finally  vividly  think  these  conditions  as  possible  in  himself 
under  similar  conditions.  Thus  he  has  identified  himself 
with  the  pupil,  and  is  in  sympathy  with  him.  This  enables 
the  teacher  to  appreciate  the  pupil's  failures  and  successes, 
and  to  appear  as  a  co-seeker  of  truth.  Teacher  and  pupil 
become,  in  a  certain  sense,  comrades  in  a  quest  for  the  un- 
known. 

e.  That  the  central  or  organizing  principle  of  the 
branch  of  study  to  which  the  subject-matter  belongs,  and 
the  process  of  consciousness  suggest  the  order  and  the  con- 
centration of  devices.     For  example,  in  the  study  of  the 
Emancipation  Proclamation  there  should  be  a  concentration 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 


247 


of  devices  to  develop  a  knowledge  of  the  outward  event,  of 
the  mental  attitude  giving  rise  to  it,  and  of  the  mental  at- 
titude succeeding  it.  In  the  study  of  each  of  these  three 
aspects  there  should  be  a  concentration  of  devices  to  awaken 
an  indistinct  knowledge  of  the  aspect  as  a  whole;  a 
clear  knowledge  of  the  distinctions  within  it,  and  of  its 
systematic  unification  upon  its  characteristic  or  dominant 
attribute. 


248  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING. 

From  time  to  time  reference  has  been  made  to  various 
pedagogical  principles,  particularly  in  connection  with  the 
discussion  of  The  Analysis  of  Knowing.  At  this  stage, 
however,  it  is  deemed  advisable  to  turn  attention  to  various 
pedagogical  principles  based,  not  merely  upon  the  nature 
of  psychological  activities,  but  also  upon  the  aim  of  life 
and  the  nature  of  the  branches  of  study.  It  will,  no  doubt, 
be  admitted  that  the  most  comprehensive  central  principle 
of  education  is  expressed  in  the  statement  that  the  mind  is 
self -determining.  This  means  that  the  mind,  in  the  be- 
ginning of  its  existence,  is  without  definite  habits  and  ten- 
dencies and  that  gradually,  as  it  adjusts  itself  to  the  en- 
vironment, it  gives  to  itself  certain  characteristics  of  knowl- 
edge, certain  modes  of  emotional  response  and  certain  forms 
of  choice. 

To  say  that  the  mind  determines  itself  is  to  assert  that 
it  gives  to  itself  particular  tendencies  of  action.  At  first 
the  mind  is  potential,  that  is,  capable  of  acting  in  any  one 
of  many  forms,  but  by  responding  in  a  particular  way  to 
a  particular  stimulus,  it  determines  itself  in  that  mode  of 
action.  It  gives  to  itself  the  characteristic  of  being  more 
inclined  to  that  kind  of  activity  than  to  any  other.  Self- 
determination  of  the  mind  is,  therefore,  at  first,  poten- 
tial, a  general  capacity  for  many  kinds  of  action. 

In  the  second  place,  this  general  capacity  becomes  speci- 
fic. By  this  it  is  meant  that  the  mind  constructs  in  itself 
certain  particular  forms  of  activity.  These  become,  as  it 
were,  distinct,  habitual  processes.  Among  these  determina- 
tions are  the  processes  of  sense  perception,  memory,  imag- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  249 

ination,  conception,  etc.  The  condition  of  existing  in  any 
one  of  these  kinds  of  activity  is  the  second  aspect  of  self- 
determination. 

Common  observation,  however,  shows  that  if  the  mind 
producess  in  itself  any  special  form  of  activity  there  results 
a  tendency  toward  that  form.  Thus  as  life  proceeds  the 
mind  acquires  definite  tendencies  toward  action.  These 
constitute  the  final  aspect  of  determination. 

Determination  in  the  mind  is  called  se£/-determination 
because  the  energy  of  the  mind  is  a  factor  in  deciding  its 
own  condition.  Environment  does  not  determine  every- 
thing. It  does  not  cause  the  different  mental  changes.  En- 
vironment is  merely  a  stimulus.  Upon  the  existence  of  this 
stimulus,  the  mind  may,  by  its  own  energy,  create  in  itself 
a  corresponding  particular  condition. 

The  general  nature  of  the  principle  of  self-determination 
has  been  referred  to  on  pages  154-155.  Growing  out  of 
this  central  principle  of  education  there  are  various  subor- 
dinate principles.  The  leading  ones  among  these  are  briefly 
cited  in  the  f ollowing : 

1.  Without  attention  there  can  be  no  adequate  education. 
What  is  the  nature  of  attention?  It  is  a  mode  of  psychical 
activity  belonging  to  all  conscious  states.  Every  conscious 
state  consists  of  elements,  because  the  objects  of  which  a 
person  is  conscious  are  very  complex.  Even  so  small  a 
thing  as  a  child's  ball  is  complex,  for  it  possesses  form,  size, 
color,  smoothness  or  roughness,  hardness  or  softness,  dis- 
tance, direction,  etc.  Any  single  mental  state  denoting  this 
single  object  is  complex  in  that  it  possesses  various  ele- 
ments denoting  the  various  parts  or  attributes  of  the  ob- 
ject. 

Is  the  whole  act  of  consciousness  attention?  By  atten- 
tion is  meant  the  most  active  element  of  a  conscious  state. 
In  different  terms,  attention  is  the  focus  of  consciousness. 


250  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

In  every  mental  state  the  mind  is  attending  with  definite 
energy  to  some  one  aspect  of  the  object  or  to  some  one 
object  among  many,  while  it  is  in  a  faint  way  noticing  the 
existence  of  other  attributes  or  other  objects. 

This  most  active  element  in  a  consciousness,  namely,  at- 
tention, is  at  first  synthetic  because  it  seems  to  denote  the 
object  as  a  whole.  But  it  soon  becomes  analytic,  since  the 
attention  is  centered  now  upon  the  color,  now  upon  the  size, 
now  upon  the  distance,  etc. 

There  is  also  an  organized  synthetic  attention,  in  that 
the  mind  having  discriminated  for  example,  two  characteris- 
tics of  the  object  gives  attention  to  their  unity,  that  is,  to 
the  oneness  of  the  function  they  have  in  the  nature  of  the 
object. 

For  example,  a  person  in  examining  a  water  pitcher  may 
attend  at  one  time  to  its  handle,  at  another  time  to  its  lip, 
at  another  time  to  the  shape  of  the  bottom  which  enables 
it  to  stand  firmly  upon  a  flat  surface.  During  all  this 
process  the  attention  has  been  analytic.  It  now  becomes 
synthetic,  however,  because  the  mind  gives  strict  attention 
to  the  fact  that  all  three  of  these  characteristics  are  in  har- 
mony, when  considered  with  reference  to  the  use  of  the 
pitcher.  Since  the  education  of  the  child  rests  upon  atten- 
tion and  his  education  consists  in  the  acquirement  of  the 
power  of  attention,  the  teacher  should  understand  the  cen- 
tral nature  of  attention,  the  synthetic  and  analytic  aspects 
in  the  process  and  guide  the  work  of  the  recitation  in  har- 
mony with  it. 

2.  In  the  process  of  educating  a  child  concerning  any 
object  or  event,  the  whole  of  the  object  or  event  should, 
in  so  far  as  practicable,  be  placed  before  him  m  the  begin- 
ning. This  harmonizes  with  the  first  stage  of  self-deter- 
mination because  this  device  stimulates  in  the  child  an  in- 
distinct notion  of  the  object  as  a  whole.  This  is  necessary 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  251 

in  order  to  prepare  him  to  understand  the  relation  of  the 
various  parts  and  attributes  that  may  be  discovered  after- 
wards. In  obedience  to  this  principle,  the  child  should  ex- 
amine all  of  a  poem  or  all  of  a  division  of  it,  all  of  a  para- 
graph, or  all  of  a  problem  before  turning  special  attention 
to  any  given  part  or  characteristic. 

3.  The  original  feeling  which  an  object  stimulates  in 
the  person  who  is  investigating  should  be  changed  gradually 
into  dear  knowledge.  When  one  begins  to  examine  any  ob- 
ject, as  a  poem,  the  voyage  of  the  Mayflower,  a  part  of 
speech,  etc.,  he  has  an  indistinct  feeling  of  the  meaning 
which  it  exhibits.  The  object  should  be  analyzed  and 
specially  studied  in  all  of  its  various  aspects  so  as  to  change 
this  instictive  feeling  into  definite  knowledge.  All  instincts, 
as  instincts  of  behavior,  impulses  toward  charitable  action 
or  impulses  toward  industry  should  be  changed  through 
work  and  study  into  definite  ideas.  If  a  parent,  a  teacher, 
or  a  person  engaged  in  any  of  the  vocations  of  life,  acts 
mainly  upon  instinct,  even  if  the  instinct  is  a  true  one,  his 
action  is  unreliable.  Only  when  feeling  and  instinct  are 
grounded  in  a  clear  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  the  act 
which  manifests  them  is  the  result  reliable.* 

The  following  show,  in  poetic  form  the  transition  from 
indistinct  feeling  or  impulse  to  clear  knowledge. 

"May  that  which  works  and  lives,  the  ever-growinp1, 
In  bonds  "f  love  enfold  you,  mercy-fraught, 
And  Seeming's  changeful  form,  around  ye  flowing, 
Do  ye  arrest  in  ever-during  thought." 

Goethe's  Faust,  The  Prologue  in  Heaven. 

"Oxer  his  keys  the  musing  organist 
Beginning  doubtfully  and  far  away, 
First  lets  his  fingers  wander  as  they  list, 
And  builds  a  bridge  from  Dreamland  for  his  lay  : 
Then,  as  the  touch  of  his  loved  instrument 
Gives  hope  and  fervor,  nearer  draws  his  theme, 
First  guessed  by  faint  auroral  flushes  sent 
Along  the  wavering  vista  of  his  dream." 

I/j  well's  The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal :    Prelude  I. 


See  "A  Study  of  Child  Nature,"  by  Elizabeth  Harrison. 


252  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

4.  All  educational  work  should  be  regarded  as  unsatis- 
factory if  the  distinctions  made  by  the  pupil  concerning  the 
subject  being  studied  lack  clearness.    Nothing  aids  more 
fully  the  true  comprehension  of  an  object  than  the  distinct 
idea  of  its  various  parts  and  attributes  which  can  be  made 
by  abstracting  each  and  making  a  careful  study  of  it  as  it 
seems  to  exist  in  itself.     In  obtaining  this  distinctive  knowl- 
edge the  attributes  or  parts  which  are  being  studied  should 
be  closely  compared  and  even  more  closely  contrasted  with 
the  other  attributes  and  parts.     It  should  be  a  point  of  in- 
terest to  both  teacher  and  pupil  to  discover  two  things 
that  are  so  closely  related  as  to  require  special  attention  to 
discriminate  them.    Sometimes,  for  examples,  it  is  said  that 
a  certain  law  is  ' l  null  and  void. ' '    Just  what  is  the  distinc- 
tion between  the  objects  expressed  by  these  two  words  ? 

5.  In  the  discovery  of  distinctions  the  child  should  have 
an  orderly  process.     It  is  meant  by  this  that  the  object  be- 
ing presented  should  be  distinguished,  first,  into  its  pre- 
dominant divisions,  and  then  these  predominant  divisions 
should  be  sub-divided.     These  smaller  divisions  should  be 
then  further  subdivided.     For  example,  in  studying  the 
industries  of  the  New  England  states  it  would  be  inartistic 
work  to  begin  by  discovering  all  of  the  characteristics  con- 
cerning the  people  as  engaging  in  the  business  of  shipping. 
The  distinctions  should  be  made  first  rather  in  order  to 
show  that  they  were  engaged  in  shipping,  in  manufactur- 
ing, in  mining,  in  agricultural  work,  etc.     This  principle 
it  is  evident  relates  to  the  second  stage  in  the  process  of 
self-determination. 

6.  The  distinctions  that  are  to  be  considered  in  connec- 
tion  with   any   object   or  subject   should,   of    course,   be 
adapted  to  the  pupil's  stage  of  development.    Many  rela- 
tions would  be  shown  concerning  the  voyage  of  the  May- 
flower in  the  eighth  year  grade  that  would  not  be  consid- 
ered in  the  fifth  year  grade,  provided  this  event  should  be 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  253 

one  of  the  subjects  taught  in  the  fifth  year  grade.  In  the 
later  grades  when  studying  United  States  History,  atten- 
tion would  be  given  to  the  characteristics  in  the  govern- 
ment which  adapt  it  to  a  people  desiring  self-govern- 
ment. Probably  this  relation  would  not  be  considered  in 
the  earlier  grades.  The  more  simple  relations  would  there 
receive  attention  in  that  the  work  would  be  centered  upon 
the  less  complex  events  in  the  life  and  government  of  the 
people. 

7.  The  concluding  work  in  dealing  with  any  subject,  as, 
for  example,  the  American  Revolution,  is  to  lead  the  pupil 
to  decide  upon  the  central  characteristic  and  then  to  think 
out  the  degree  to  which  all  the  other  characteristics  manifest 
this  central  characteristic.     In    studying    the    American 
Revolution  he  would  become  aware  of  many  distinctions. 
Some  one  of  these  is  the  predominant  characteristic  of  the 
whole   event.     This  predominant  characteristic,   after  be- 
discovered,  should  be  shown  to  be  predominant  by  having 
it  appear  that  each  of  the  other  characteristics  is  this 
predominant  characteristic  in  a  special  form.     This  process 
of  thinking  is  a  manifestation  in  the  pupil  of  the  third 
stage  in  self-determination. 

8.  When  any  object  or  event  being  studied  has  been 
learned  or  rendered  subjective,  in  the  form  of  idea,  feeling 
or  volitional  tendency,  it  should  then  be  made  objective  in 
order  to  accomplish  two  things.     The  first  is  that  of  mak- 
ing the  process  of  knowledge  complete.     The  process  in 
knowledge  is  never  entirely  complete  until  the  child  has 
expressed  in  some  way  the  psychical  condition  which  has 
been  produced.     The  second  is  that  of  enabling  the  teacher 
to  test  the  accuracy  of  the  pupil's    thought    concerning 
the  object  which  has  been  studied. 

This  principle  is  intended  to  emphasize  the  importance 
of  the  motor  factor  in  education.     It  is  therefore  the  basis 


254  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

of  manual  training,  drawing,  written  examinations,  oral 
recitations,  etc. 

The  total  activity  is  as  follows:  The  child  goes  through 
the  process  of  gaining  a  knowledge  of  the  object  which  has 
heretofore  been  alien  or  objective  to  him.  That  is,  he  be- 
comes aware  of  it,  feels  concerning  it,  and  has  volitional 
tendencies  in  regard  to  it.  He  must  then  study  out  some 
mode  of  exhibiting  the  thought,  feeling,  etc.,  to  others.  This 
psychical  state  may  be  manifested  in  drawings,  water  col- 
ors, oral  expression,  written  examinations,  etc. 

Complete  education  includes  contemplation,  or  thinking 
out  the  nature  of  a  thing,  and  objectification  or  revealing 
in  actions,  words,  writing,  etc.,  the  thought  that  has  been 
gained  in  the  study  of  the  thing.  Dante  reveals  these  two 
sides  of  education,  the  merely  contemplative  and  that  which 
includes  contemplation  and  manifestation  by  speaking  of 
Leah  and  Rachel: 

"Know  ye,  whoever  of  my  name  would  ask, 
That  I  am  I^eah:  for  my  brow  to  weave 
A  garland,  these  fair  hands  unwearied  ply. 
To  please  me  at  the  crystal  mirror,  here 
Here  I  deck  me.    But  my  sister  Rachel,  she 
Before  her  glass  abides  the  livelong  day, 
Her  radiant  eyes  beholding,  charm'd  no  less, 
Than  I  with  this  delightful  task,     Her  joy 
In  contemplation,  as  in  labor  mine." 

Dante's  Purgatory,  Canto  XXVIII,  lines  101-109. 

If,  after  explaining  a  given  thought  in  the  class,  the 
teacher  should  ask,  "Do  you  understand?"  and  the  pupil 
should  reply  by  saying  that  he  does,  this  principle  requires 
the  teacher  to  say  further,  "Show  what  you  see,"  or,  "You 
may  explain."  It  is  not  at  all  unusual  to  have  certain  de- 
fects in  the  thinking  of  the  pupil  revealed  by  this  attempt 
to  explain  it.  Even  if  this  does  not  result,  the  thought  will 
be  made  more  prominent  and  more  exact  by  the  expression. 

The  reply  in  a  complete  sentence  is  not  merely  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  practice  in  language.  The  complete 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  255 

sentence  reveals  the  relation  of  the  attribute  to  the  object, 
and  in  consequence,  one  important  function  of  the  full 
statement  is  to  indicate  whether  the  pupil  has  the  true  view 
of  the  relation.  For  example,  the  teacher  having  explained 
a  certain  thought  in  physiology  may  ask,  "What  does  this 
imply?"  and  the  pupil  may  answer,  "It  implies  nervous 
action."  "What  nervous  action?"  the  teacher  may  con- 
tinue. The  reply  to  this  may  be,  "The  action  of  the 
neurone."  A  further  question  may  be,  "The  action  of 
what  neurone?"  To  this  the  pupil  may  answer,  "The 
neurone  in  the  spinal  column. ' '  This  will  reveal  an  error 
in  the- thought  of  the  pupil,  because  the  true  answer  in  the 
supposed  case  would  be,  "It  will  denote  the  action  of  the 
neurone  in  the  cerebral  cortex. ' ' 

9.  When  the  pupil  is  about  to  enter  upon  the  considera- 
tion of  some  new  subject,  as,  for  example,  the  minerals  of 
Indiana,  or  the  birds  of  his  own  county,  he  should  free  his 
mind  from  existing  feelings,  purposes  or  ideas  that  are  not 
of  a  nature  to  promote  a  clear  knowledge  of  the  new  sub- 
ject which  is  to  be  investigated.     This  is  in  order  to  render 
effective  the  specific  act  of  knowing  the  new  truth.     It  also 
promotes  the  appropriate  feelings  and  tendencies  toward 
choice  which  belong  to  the  new  knowledge.    This  relates  to 
the  second  aspect  of  self-determination,  namely,  that  of 
establishing  in  the  self  a  definite,  effective  psychological 
condition,  in  harmony  with  the  object  being  studied. 

10.  There  should  be  a  gradual  increase  in  attention  to 
the  relations  of  objects  as  the  child  progresses  from  grade 
to  grade.     This  is  especially  true  in  regard  to  the  relation 
indicated  by  the  word  "why."    It  seems  an  incorrect  edu- 
cational doctrine  to  assume  that  the  child  should  for  many 
years  consider  objects  only,  disregarding  their  relations.    In 
the  beginning  grades  simple  relations  should  be  considered, 
in  the  immediately  succeeding  grades,  relations  that  are 


256  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

somewhat  more  difficult ;  in  the  still  higher  grades  relations 
that  are  still  more  difficult.  It  was  Agassiz  who  said  that 
objects  considered  apart  from  their  relations  are  stupid 
things.  The  tendency  to  consider  objects  as  entirely  sepa- 
rate things  is  already  too  strong  when  the  pupil  enters 
school.  Little  by  little  he  should  be  led  to  see  tne  relations 
within  the  object  itself  and  the  relations  of  the  object  as  a 
whole  to  other  things.  The  important  thing  is  to  grade  the 
process  of  discovering  relations,  but  all  stages  in  school 
work  should  deal  with  relations  of  some  grade  of  difficulty. 

11.  Sense-perception  furnishes  the  minimum  of  truth. 
This  is  not  usually  held  to  be  the  case.    Many  people  think 
that  a  direct  examination  of  objects  through  sense-percep- 
tion gives  the  deepest  and  most  prominent  truth  concerning 
the  object.    There  should,  of  course,  be  no  effort  to  minimize 
the  great  importance  of  this  direct  examination.     It  should 
be  seen,  however,  in  its  true  relation.     It  is  to  furnish  ma- 
terials merely  for  the  discovery  of  deeper  truths  which  are 
to  be   learned,   not   through   sense-perception    itself,   but 
through  higher  forms  of  mental  activity.     Memory,  even, 
gives  a  deeper  truth  than  sense-perception,  because  it  makes 
the  individual  acquainted  with  his  life  as  it  bears  upon  both 
the  present  and  the  past.    Sense-perception  does  not  make 
the  pupil  acquainted  with  the  essential  realities.   This  prin- 
ciple concerning  sense-perception  hints  to  the  teacher  the 
graded  series  of  activities  in  knowing.     Memory  does  not 
reveal  a  truth  as  fundamental  as  that  given  by  imagina- 
tion.    Imagination  does  not  make  the  person  acquainted 
with  a  truth  as  fundamental  as  that  given  in  conception, 
etc.     This  is  the  basis  of  the  distribution  of  time  and  em- 
phasis. 

12.  The  process  in  the  cultivation  of  sense-perception 
involves,  in  the  first  place,  the  examination  of  the  object 
as  a  whole.     This  gives  the  basis  for  the  discovery  of  the 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  257 

various  distinctions  in  the  object.  One  by  one  each  of  the 
attributes  in  the  object  is  to  be  given  distinct  attention  and 
thus  clearly  known  as  a  thing  in  itself.  Finally  each  of  the 
attributes  and  parts  distinguished  is  to  be  examined  in  its 
relation  to  the  central  meaning  in  the  object. 

This  makes  it  evident  that  the  power  of  the  child  ade- 
quately to  sense-perceive  an  object  depends  upon  the  clear- 
ness of  the  ideas  he  already  has.  The  greatest  aid  in  en- 
abling the  child  to  perceive  with  rapidity  and  accuracy  the 
object  he  is  to  examine,  is  to  aid  him  in  rendering  his  idea 
of  the  present  object  explicit  and  accurate,  by  the  observ- 
ance of  this  process. 

13.  As  noted  above,  memory  gives  rise  to  a  Knowledge 
which  is  more  substantial  than  that  of  sense-perception. 
This  is  because  an  act  of  memory  requires  more  self-activity 
on  the  part  of  the  mind  and  it  requires  greater  attention 
to  the  past  and  the  present  in  their  relations.     Sense-per- 
ception involves  attention  to  the  past,  but  the  attention  is 
rather  sub-conscious.    In  memory  the  attention  to  the  past 
in  relation  to  the  present  is  explicit  and  definite.     This  fact 
is  the  basis  of  higher  estimation  of  memory  and  of  the  in- 
centive to  make  memory  systematic.     (See  p.  186.) 

14.  The  sense  in  which  the  imagination  gives  a  greater 
truth  than  memory,  as  previously  noted,  is  as  follows:  In 
memory  the  object  is  regarded  as  merely  particular  and 
there  is  no  hint  of  the  general.    Imagination,  however,  is  a 
somewhat  distinct  movement  toward  the  idea  of  the  general. 
If  the  mind  creates  a  state  denoting  a  change  in  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  object  and  at  the  same  time  regards  the  ob- 
ject as  belonging  under  the  same  v^lass  that  it  did  before  it 
was  changed,  the  inevitable  result  is  to  lead  the  mind  to 
contemplate  two  objects  in  somewhat  different  form  which 
receive  the  same  name.    That  necessarily  suggests  the  gen- 
eral. 


258  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

Imagination  also  indicates  more  fully  the  self -activity  of 
the  mind,  since  it  reveals  greater  freedom  over  the  external 
stimulus.  In  memory  the  mind  is  strictly  obedient  to  the 
stimulus  which  was  present  in  the  former  act.  In  imagina- 
tion the  self  feels  free  to  produce  in  itself  an  image  denot- 
ing a  modification  of  the  stimulus  in  obedience  to  its  own 
interests.  This  relation  of  memory  to  imagination  should 
be  carefully  considered  by  the  teacher  and  recognized  in 
the  emphasis  given  to  the  cultivation  of  the  latter. 

15.  The  tendency  to  idealize  should  be  cultivated  as  an 
essential  stage  in  the  process  of  thought.     Idealization  is 
regarded  by  many  persons  as  a  mere  byplay  in  life.     It  is 
held  to  belong  to  the  dreamer,  but  not  to  the  worker.    The 
teacher  should  know  that  all  thinking  is  rendered  impos- 
sible if  the  ability  to  idealize  clearly  is  lacking.    Idealizing 
is  the  process  of  imagining  a  present  condition  in  a  modified 
form.    It  is  necessary,  therefore,  as  a  basis  for  discrimina- 
tion.    It  is  also  necessary  as  a  basis  for  feelings  of  satis- 
faction and  dissatisfaction  which  lead  from  desire  to  choice. 
The  chosen  desired  condition,  when  analyzed  by  the  intellect 
stimulates  activities  adapted  to  make  the  idealized  condi- 
tion real. 

The  clear  thinker  is  always  a  person  whose  power  of 
idealization  is  strong.  The  teacher  should  therefore  feel 
entirely  free  to  lead  the  child  into  modes  of  study  that  will 
cultivate  well  grounded  processes  of  idealization.  It  would 
be  helpful  while  considering  this  subject  to  examine  ' '  Scien- 
tific Uses  of  Imagination, "  in  ' '  Fragments  of  Science, ' '  by 
John  Tyndall.  A  valuable  contribution  upon  the  same 
subject  is  "The  Imagination,"  in  "Poetry,  Comedy  and 
Duty,"  by  C.  C.  Everett. 

16.  The  language  activity,  as  explained  on  pages  195- 
199,  is  the  process  of  producing  and  also  of  Interpreting 
language.     The  second  phase  of  the  activity  is  termed  in- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  259 

terpretation.  The  interpretative  aspect  of  the  language  act 
is  the  first  process  in  a  reading  lesson.  The  language  ac- 
tivity as  producing,  must  of  necessity  have  been  at  work, 
however,  in  order  to  bring  into  existence  the  selection  which 
is  to  be  interpreted.  The  true  reading  of  a  selection,  there- 
fore, involves  both  the  process  of  interpreting  it,  and,  in 
a  secondary  way,  the  process  of  creating  it.  In  fact,  to 
produce  in  the  mind  the  knowledge  of  any  object  is,  in  a 
certain  sense,  to  re-create  it. 

It  is  an  advantage  to  the  teacher  to  know  that  the  full 
knowledge  of  a  selection  in  reading  involves  (1)  the  process 
of  becoming  aware  of  the  language,  the  embodiment,  the 
thought  and  the  purpose  and  (2)  the  process  of  beginning 
with  the  purpose,  which  is  the  initial  stage  in  the  author 's 
mind,  and  noting  how  the  purpose  leads  to  the  selection  of 
a  definite  thought,  and  then,  in  succession,  how  the  thought 
selects  and  limits  the  embodiment  and  the  language. 

It  therefore  follows  that  the  final  view  of  a  selection  which 
has  been  studied  in  the  reading  class  is  that  of  noting  the 
adaptation  of  the  language  and  the  embodiment  to  the 
thought  and  purpose.  This  is  the  artistic  aspect  of  reading 
work.  It  can  be  regarded  but  slightly  in  the  lower  grades, 
but  as  the  child  advances  in  his  education,  this  aspect 
should  become  progressively  more  prominent. 

17.  In  studying  a  word  or  any  other  form  of  language, 
or  in  considering  an  attribute  of  an  object,  the  important 
thing  is  to  comprehend  the  reason  for  it.  The  most  advan- 
tageous mode  of  discovering  the  reason  for  an  existing  thing 
or  attribute  is  to  make  the  pupil  conscious  of  the  effects  of 
its  absence.  Let  it  be  assumed  that  the  teacher  wishes  to 
lead  the  pupils  to  understand  the  reason  for  the  presence 
of  the  adjective  in  the  language.  This  can  be  approached 
by  work  which  will  make  the  child  conscious  of  the  limita- 
tion or  difficulty  that  would  arise  if  no  adjectives  what- 


260  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

ever  were  existing.  He  might,  for  example,  be  led  to  make 
the  attempt  to  express  his  thought  concerning  even  the 
most  simple  thing,  under  the  regulation  that  no  adjective 
was  to  be  used.  This  would  impress  him  with  the  important 
place  it  occupies  in  the  language,  and  would  equip  him  for 
a  careful  study  of  the  reasons  for  its  existence.  In  like 
manner,  the  intelligence  which  underlies  any  part  of  an 
object  or  any  attribute  of  an  object  can  be  best  shown  by 
awakening  the  idea  of  the  results  which  would  necessarily 
accompany  the  absence  of  it. 

18.  It  was  said,  on  page  200,  that  the  mind,  when  in 
the  stage  of  the  understanding,  considers  the  various  dis- 
tinctions or  traits  of  objects  to  be  externally  imposed.  In 
order,  therefore,  to  cultivate  self-direction  in  the  pupil, 
the  teacher  should  endeavor  to  assist  him  to  rise  gradually 
out  of  the  attitude  peculiar  to  the  understanding.  This 
means  that  the  child  should  gradually  begin  to  think  of  the 
activity  in  any  plant,  animal,  or  person  as  largely  deter- 
mined by  the  nature  of  that  plant,  animal,  or  person. 

Environment  has,  of  course,  a  certain  influence.  It  is 
to  be  regarded,  however,  as  a  stimulus.  For  example,  the 
evils  coming  upon  one  must  not  be  thought  to  be  determined 
by  the  star  under  which  he  was  born.  This  notion  is  ad- 
mirably expressed  in  Act  I,  Scene  II.  of  King  Lear,  by  Ed- 
mund. This  expression  is: 

This  is  the  excellent  foppery  of  the  world,  that  when  we  are  sick 
in  fortune — often  the  surfeit  of  our  own  behavior — we  make  guilty  of 
our  disasters  the  sun,  the  moon  and  stars  :  as  if  we  were  villains  by 
necessity,  fools  by  heavenly  compulsion  ;  knaves,  thieves  and  treach- 
ers,  by  spherical  predominance  ;  drunkards,  liars  and  adulterers,  by 
an  enforced  obedience  to  planetary  influence  ;  and  all  that  we  are  evil 
in,  by  a  divine  thrusting  on." 

The  same  idea  is  promulgated  in  Act  I.,  Scene  II.,  of 
Julius  Caesar.  Cassius,  in  speaking  to  Brutus,  says : 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  261 

"  Men  at  some  time  are  masters  of  their  fates  : 
The  fault,  dear  Brutus,  is  not  in  the  stars, 
But  in  ourselves,  that  we  are  underlings." 

It  will  be  an  aid  to  the  pupil  to  feel  that  excellent  results 
of  every  kind,  as  well  as  evil  effects,  arise  largely  from  the 
acts  of  the  person  affected;  that  each  person,  in  a  sense, 
works  out  his  own  salvation. 

19.  On  page  201,  it  has  been  shown  that  the  activity  of 
understanding  begins  with  the  indistinct  process  known  as 
apprehension.  Rising  through  intervening  stages  of  ab- 
stracting, discriminating,  comparing,  generalizing,  and  dis- 
covering the  relation  of  cause  and  effect,  the  self  finally  be- 
comes aware  of  the  structural  characteristic  of  the  object. 
This  is  an  important  stage  in  the  process  of  education.  It 
adds  greatly  to  the  power  of  a  person  to  be  able  to  think 
of  an  object  or  event  in  relation  to  its  structural  charac- 
teristic. The  poem  called  "The  Child  Musician,"  Har- 
per's Fourth  Reader,  page  228,  has  as  its  structural  idea 
the  sense  of  monotony. 

"  He  had  played  for  his  lordship's  levee, 
He  had  played  for  her  ladyship's  whim, 
Till  the  poor  little  head  was  heavy 
And  the  poor  little  brain  would  swim,"  etc. 

In  the  poem,  "To  a  Waterfowl,"  the  structural  notion 
is  that  of  faith.  In  "Evangeline"  the  structural  charac- 
teristic or  formative  idea,  is  woman's  devotion.  In  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  the  structural  conception 
is  the  idea  of  "A  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people, 
for  the  people."  The  artistic  teacher  has  an  instinctive 
sense  that  each  object,  whether  belonging  to  inanimate 
nature,  animate  nature,  or  to  human  beings  and  their  prod- 
ucts has  a  structural  characteristic  which  has  given  to  it 
its  various  aspects.  This  instinct  made  somewhat  conscious 
would  be  a  valuable  guide  in  all  the  details  of  school  work, 
whether  relating  to  instruction  or  discipline. 


262  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

20.  In  all  instruction  leading  to  the  formation  of  the 
concept,  the  teacher  should  remember  that  while  the  process 
of  conception  is,  in  its  more  superficial  sense,  a  conscious- 
ness of  the  set  of  common  attributes  belonging  to  a  class  of 
objects,  it  is,  in  its  more  fundamental  sense,  a  consciousness 
of  the  producing  activity  which  gave  rise  to  the  objects  and 
to  all  of  their  parts  and  distinctions.    During  the  first  six  or 
seven  years  of  school  life,  the  work  upon  the  general  idea 
should  usually  terminate  in  the  notion  of  the  group  of  com- 
mon attributes.    As  the  higher  grades  are  approached,  how- 
ever, the  pupil  should,  little  by  little,  be  led  to  know,  at 
least  to  a  degree,  that  there  is  a  creative  activity  which  gives 
rise  to  the  class.     All  this  emphasizes  in  his  mind  the  im- 
portance of  a  process.     He  begins  to  comprehend  that  the 
process  is  more  important  than  its  products.     The  object 
or  product  is  merely  a  way-station  in  the  process,  because 
the  process  produces  the  object  and  then  slowly  removes 
it,  producing  another  object  in  its  stead.    This  notion  of  the 
process  gives  the  key  also,  to  the  teacher's  procedure  in 
promoting  intellectual  and  moral  progress. 

The  self-activity  of  the  pupil  brings  about,  largely,  his 
present  intellectual  and  moral  condition.  This  condition 
may  be  regarded  for  the  time  being  as  static,  as  an  es- 
tablished condition  of  the  self,  or  as  an  habitual  mode  of 
being.  The  same  self-activity,  however,  naturally  annuls 
this  condition  and  produces  a  higher  one  in  its  stead.  This 
locates  responsibility  in  the  pupil,  mainly,  and  not  mainly 
in  his  environment  nor  in  his  " stars"  as  indicated  by  such 
words  as  disaster. 

21.  The  nature  of  the  concept  requires  that  the  pupil 
should  be  led  to  see  that  the  knowledge  of  each  new  object 
of  a  class  tends  to  enrich  the  content  or  meaning  of  the 
class,  and  also  to  increase  the  extent  of  the  concept.     This 
is  because  the  concept  is  the  idea  of  the  common  creative 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  263 

activity.  If  a  person  has  a  knowledge  of  the  right-angled 
triangle  and  the  scalene  triangle  only,  his  notion  of  triangle- 
producing  activity  would  signify  only  the  activity  capable 
of  producing  these  two  kinds.  If  he  afterwards  becomes 
acquainted  with  the  nature  of  the  isosceles  triangle,  two 
things  have  occurred:  (1)  he  discovers  that  the  activity 
which  produces  triangles  has  a  capacity  that  he  was  not 
before  aware  of,  (increase  of  content),  and  (2)  he  also 
knows  that  the  extent  of  the  class  triangle  has  been  enlarged. 
It  gives  vitality  to  education  to  have  the  pupil  feel  as  he 
progresses  from  grade  to  grade  that  the  discovery  of  every 
new  object  and  event  makes  him  acquainted  with  new  ca- 
pacities in  the  creative  activities  and  with  an  enlarged  ex- 
tent of  the  classes. 

In  the  old  notion  of  the  concept,  namely,  that  it  signi- 
fied merely  the  common  attributes,  the  discovery  of  a  new 
object  under  the  class  was  said  to  increase  the  extent  of  the 
class  but  to  decrease  its  content.  If  this  were  true,  as  one's 
education  progressed  his  knowledge  would  become  more  and 
more  empty. 

22.  Education  seeks  to  render  explicit  the  concept  which 
the  child  has  constructed.     This  is  done  by  developing  the 
thought  of  the  concept  into  a  series  of  judgments.     These 
differentiating  judgments  express  the  details  of  the  thought 
denoted  in  the  concept.     On  the  assumption  that  tne  con- 
cept is  that  of  the  island,  it  can  be  rendered  clear  by  lead- 
ing the  child  to  express  in  various  sentences  all  of  the  dif- 
ferent essential  thoughts  concerning  the  island.     This  is 
really  the  analysis  of  the  concept  and  it  results  in  clearness. 

23.  It  has  been  shown  on  page  216  that  the  fundamental 
forms  of  the  sentence  are,  those  that  express  the  immediate 
judgment,  the  conditional  judgment  and  the  definitive  judg- 
ment.    This  indicates  their  order  of  difficulty  and  hence 
the  order,  in  general,  in  teaching  them. 


264  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

The  immediate  judgment  is  expressed  in  a  sentence  which 
explicitly  denotes  only  one  relation,  namely,  the  relation 
between  the  subject  and  the  predicate,  as,  The  ground  is 
wet.  In  taking  up  the  work  under  sentences  various  ex- 
amples of  this  class  should  be  considered  before  those  ex- 
pressing the  conditional  judgment,  as  The  ground,  if  it  has 
rained,  is  wet.  In  sentences  of  this  second  kind,  the  child 
is  required  to  be  acquainted  not  only  with  the  relation  be- 
tween the  subject  and  the  predicate,  but  also  with  the  rela- 
tion of  this  unity  to  a  certain  condition. 

The  sentences  which  express  definitive  judgments  should 
be  the  culminating  work  under  the  sentence,  since  they  are 
sentences  that  express,  in  a  complete  way,  the  exact  nature 
of  the  object  which  is  denoted  by  the  subject  of  the  sentence. 
This  evidently  requires  a  higher  grade  of  thought  than  that 
necessary  to  deal  with  the  other  forms  of  the  sentence,  as 
may  be  realized  by  analyzing  the  process  in  creating  the 
thought  expressed  by  the  following  definitive  sentence :  A 
square  is  a  parallelogram  having  four  equal  sides  and  four 
right-angles. 

24.  The  teacher  should  gradually  learn  to  look  upon  the 
predicate  as  expressing  an  action  or  the  result  of  an  ac- 
tion. For  example,  in  the  sentence,  ''This  Doric  column 
is  fluted,"  the  predicate  expresses  the  attribute  of  "being 
fluted,"  but  that  attribute  is  the  result  of  the  activity  con- 
cerned in  producing  Doric  columns,  i.  e.,  ability  to  pro- 
duce the  attribute  fluted  is  one  of  the  capacities  of  the  ac- 
tivity which  produces  Doric  columns.  The  attribute  in  the 
predicate  always  reflects  the  capacity  of  the  activity  which 
produced  the  object  that  is  expressed  in  the  subject.  If  the 
teacher  is  fully  possessed  of  this  thought,  it  will  be  an  ad- 
vantage in  showing  the  child  the  close  relation  of  the  uni- 
versal expressed  in  the  predicate  to  the  particular  denoted 
in  the  subject. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  265 

25.  The  copula  should  be  regarded  by  the  teacher  as 
denoting  an  identity  which  is  fused,  undifferentiated.  That 
is,  the  person  reading  the  sentence,  and  often  the  one  who 
produced  it,  is  not  conscious  of  the  relations  on  which  the 
identity  is  based.     It  would  be  easy  to  say,  for  example, 
"The  Doric  column  is  fluted,"  and  at  the  same  time  be 
unable  to  explain  on  what  grounds  it  is  judged  to  be  fluted. 
The  act  of  reasoning  is  required  in  order  to  become  distinct- 
ly conscious  of  the  basis  of  the  identity  between  the  ob- 
ject and  the  attribute.     Then  the  copula  no  longer  denotes 
a  fused  unity.     The  consciousness  of  this  truth  will  tend 
to  prevent  satisfaction  with  mere  statements  by  teacher  or 
pupil.     There  will  be  an  inclination  to  show  the  basis  or 
ground  for  the  assertion.     This  will  of  necessity  render 
teaching  more  thoughtful. 

26.  The  pupil  in  inductive  and  in  deductive  reasoning 
should  be  led  to   employ  consciously,   the    differentiated 
psychical  process  rather  than  the  fused  logical  process.     In 
the  logical  process  he  makes  three  assertions,  as,  ' '  All  grains 
of  corn  have  a  pericarp.     This  is  a  grain  of  corn.     There- 
fore it  has  a  pericarp." 

The  differentiated,  psychical  process  in  deductive  reason- 
ing, for  example,  involves  five  mental  stages  instead  of 
three : 

a.  The  child  becomes  aware  of  the  object  as  a  whole. 
He  knows  it  as  an  object  distinct  from  other  objects,  but  he 
has  not  a  clear  knowledge  of  the  distinctions  in  it  itself. 

b.  He  abstracts  or  isolates  the  attribute  "having  a 
pericarp,"  and  inquires  whether  this  object  has  that  at- 
tribute. 

c.  On  the  basis  of  the  shape  of  the  object  and  other 
known  attributes  it  is  classed  as  a  grain  of  corn. 

d.  The  mind  then  analyzes  this  class  in  order  to  dis- 


266  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

cover  the  various  attributes,  and  among  these  finds  the  at- 
tribute "having  a  pericarp." 

e.     The  assertion  is  then  made  that  this  object,  since 
it  belongs  in  the  class,  has  a  pericarp. 

27.  When  the  process  of  the  pupil  in  reasoning  is  that 
of  identification,  his  limitation  is  that  of  not  fully  knowing 
the  nature  of  the  attribute  which  is  expressed  in  the  first 
judgment.    Let  it  be  assumed  that  the  first  judgment  is, 
"This  flower  is  red."  The  word  "red,"  then,  expresses  the 
attribute  denoted  in  the  first  judgment.  The  difficulty  in  the 
process  of  identification  is  that  the  child  does  not  differen- 
tiate this  attribute,  that  is,  he  does  not  think  clearly  in  re- 
gard to  the  different  objects  in  which  it  is  found.     Since 
he  does  not  notice  this,  he  is  willing  to  give  as  the  second 
sentence,  "The  geranium  is  red."     This  leads  him  to  the 
conclusion,  "This  flower  is  a  geranium."     When  it  is  said 
that  the  pupil  must  fully  differentiate  the  attribute  of  the 
first  judgment,  the  thought  is  that  he  should  reflect  care- 
fully concerning  the  presence  of  red  in  flowers.     If  this 
were  done,  greater  care  would  be  exercised  in  making  the 
first  assertion.     All  processes  of  identification,  that  is,  of 
inaccurate  induction  and  deduction,  are  based  upon  the 
failure  of  the  pupil  to  carefully  examine  the  attribute  be- 
fore expressing  it  in  the  predicate  of  the  first  judgment. 

28.  When  the  pupil  has  reached  the  stage  of  develop- 
ment in  which  he  consciously  considers  to  some  extent  his 
own  process,  he  should  be  led  to  note  that  in  each  act  of  in- 
duction and  of  deduction  there  is  both  separation  and  unity. 
For  example,  when,  by  a  process  of  deduction,  the  pupil 
has  become  aware  that  this  grain  has  a  pericarp,  he  has 
identified  the  particular  object  with  a  certain  general  at- 
tribute, and  by  doing  this  he  has  separated  the  object  from 
all  objects  that  do  not  possess  that  attribute.     Also,  when 
having  examined  a  number  of  grains  of  corn,  the  induction 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  267 

is  made  that  all  grains  of  corn  possess  a  slight  testa,  them 
is  analysis  in  isolating  this  attribute  from  the  other  at- 
tributes of  the  object,  but  there  is  also  synthesis  in  that 
this  object  with  all  the  other  objects  of  the  class  are  unified, 
and  further  analysis  in  that  they  are  at  the  same  time  made 
separate  from  the  objects  of  all  other  classes.  Attention  to 
these  facts  would  tend  to  make  the  pupil  thoughtful  in  his 
work. 

29.  In  order  to  give  the  pupil  real  ability  In  his  work, 
he  should  be  led  to  establish  the  habit  of  examining  new 
and  varied  examples  as  a  basis  for  the  discovery  of  the  gen- 
eral principle  known  in  the  act  of  induction.     It  would  not 
be  sufficient  to  examine  a  few  grains  of  corn  in  order  to 
feel  justified  in  asserting  that  grains  of  corn  possess  a  testa. 
Many  small  grains  should  be  examined,  many  larger  grains, 
those  that  are  red,  those  that  are  whitish,  those  tnat  are 
yellow,  etc.    The  same  principle  should  control  the  child  in 
dealing  with  historical  facts,  with  events  in  literature,  in 
language,  etc. 

30.  The  habit  of  seeking  examples  of  the  general  truth 
which  has  been  discovered,  should  be  firmly  established  in 
the  pupil.    For  example,  after  examining  a  large  number 
of  grains  of  corn  and  finally  becoming  conscious  of  the 
general  truth  that  grains  of  corn  possess  a  testa,  the  pupil 
should  be  encouraged  to  verify  this  in  the  examination  of 
many  new  examples.     This  same  practice  should  prevail, 
also,  in  regard  to  historical  events,  geographical  facts,  facts 
concerning  language,  etc. 

31.  The  process  in  sympathy  is  a  suggestive  guide  for 
the  teacher's  work  in  the  school.     This  may  be  shown  by 
noting  the  process : 

a.  Let  it  be  assumed,  for  example,  that  a  person  is 
in  the  mental  condition  called  resentment  on  account  of  a 
certain  peculiar  evironment  which  he  has. 


268  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

b.  This  mental  condition  is  objectified  in  his  counte- 
nance, words,  actions,  etc. 

c.  An    observer,    through   sense-perception,    becomes 
aware  of  these  manifestations. 

d.  The  observer  reproduces  in  himself  the  mental  con- 
dition which  he  has  usually  been  in  when  these  external 
manifestations  were  put  forth  by  him. 

e.  This  gives  him  an  opportunity  to  examine  closely 
the  mental  condition  and  to  become  aware  of  its  nature.    As 
he  does  this,  he  knows  that  the  mental  condition  is  not 
really  his  own  now,  but  that  it  is  the  actual  condition  of 
the  other  person. 

f .  As  he  reflects  upon  this,  he  becomes  aware  that  such 
a  mental  condition,  under  the  stimulus  of  such  an  environ- 
ment, is  possible  to  him.     Instantly  there  arises  a  feeling 
of  identity  between  him  and  the  person  exhibiting  resent- 
ment.    This  feeling  is  called  sympathy,  (syn,  with;  pathos, 
feeling).     Sympathy  is,  perhaps,  the  fundamental  feeling 
of  the  self  and  bears  the  same  important  relation  to  the 
emotional  nature  that  attention  does  to  the  intellectual  ac- 
tivities.    If  the  teacher  clearly  understands  the  process  in 
sympathy,  it  will  enable  him  to  stimulate  sympathy  in  him- 
self and  in  the  child  much  more  fully  than  could  be  the  case 
if  the  process  were  not  understood. 

It  is  evident  that  sympathy  and  also  its  opposite,  anti- 
pathy, are  the  social  feelings  which  arise  when  the  mind, 
in  considering  itself  in  relation  to  others,  is  emphasizing 
its  attention  to  the  others.  If  the  emphasis  of  attention  in 
this  consciousness  of  self  and  others  is  upon  the  self,  the 
feeling  stimulated  is  pride  or  humility. 

The  ideal,  according  to  Aristotle,  is  the  exercise  of  func- 
tion in  the  interest  of  the  social  whole  and  of  the  essentials 
of  the  individual.  To  live  in  harmony  with  this  ideal  is 
difficult.  As  the  person  becomes  conscious  that  he  has 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  269 

potentiality  of  this  harmony,  or  that  he  is  actually  in  har- 
mony with  the  ideal,  the  condition  for  the  feeling  of  pride 
is  present ;  if  he  is  conscious  of  the  opposite,  he  will  experi- 
ence the  feeling  of  humility. 

To  be  true  elements  in  the  development  of  the  self,  pride 
and  humility  must  arise  from  the  contemplation  of  the 
present  condition  of  the  self  in  relation  to  the  adequate 
social  ideal. 

They  both  become  egoistic  or  negative  if  the  objects  con- 
templated are  particular  attainments  of  the  self  in  relation 
to  similar  particular  attainments  in  others. 

In  Dewey's  Psychology,  pages  334-335,  certain  complex 
social  feelings  are  mentioned,  as  envy,  involving  antipathy 
and  the  egoistic  form  of  humanity ;  jealousy,  involving  sym- 
pathy and  the  egoistic  form  of  humility ;  malice,  having  as 
its  elements  antipathy  and  the  egoistic  form  of  pride ;  covet- 
ousness,  consisting  of  sympathy  and  the  egoistic  form  of 
pride.  The  idea  of  the  nature  of  these  complex  feelings 
is  a  fruitful  suggestion  as  to  the  mode  of  dealing  with  them 
in  education. 

The  classical  poetical  portrayal  of  these  feelings,  particu- 
larly of  pride  and  envy  is  found  in  the  Purgatory  of 
Dante's  Divine  Comedy.  The  poet's  artistic  use  of  the 
ideal  and  its  opposite  in  the  education  of  the  inhabitants  of 
each  terrace  is  especially  noticeable. 

Sympathy  and  all  its  kindred  social  feelings  are  based 
upon  the  relation  of  self  to  others,  but  their  reference  is 
to  an  ideal  which  is  the  fundamental  nature  of  both  self 
and  others.  This  is  the  social  ideal  as  given  by  Aristotle 
which  involves  the  freedom  as  to  intellect,  feeling,  will  and 
bodily  capacities.  This  freedom  includes  the  disposition 
to  bring  about  a  like  freedom  in  others. 

The  educational  procedure  in  cultivating  sympathy  and 
the  other  forms  of  social  feelings  that  are  positive,  or  in 


270  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

freeing  the  child  from  pride,  envy  and  those  other  forms  of 
social  feeling  that  are  negative  consists, 

a.  In  making  clear  to  the  child,  gradually,  that 
ideal  by  which  each  individual  life  is  to  be  measured. 

b.  In  bringing  into  clear  consciousness  the  nature 
of  the  particular  act. 

c.  In  measuring  this  act  by  an  ideal. 

The  essence  of  the  principle  is  that  each  one  of  these 
feelings  is  to  be  cultivated  or  to  be  repressed  by  instruction 
in  harmony  with  the  process  of  the  intellect  whiclj  pro- 
duces the  ideas  that  are  the  basis  for  the  feeling. 

32.  All  education  is  based  upon  faith.     The  mental  con- 
dition known  as  faith  implies  that  the  individual  is  dis- 
tinguishing between  a  real  condition  of  which  he  is  dis- 
tinctly conscious,   and  an  ideal  condition  which  he  has 
never  realized,  and  never  known  to  be  realized.     To  have 
the  mental  condition  known  as  faith  he  must  be  conscious 
that  the  present  condition  which  seems  very  real  does  not 
have  that  stability  and  permanency,  and  that  degree  of 
reality  which  the  ideal  has.     To  feel  that  the  ideal  is  more 
real  than  the  actual,  is  to  be  existing  in  the  psychological 
state  of  faith.    This  is  an  important  attitude,  because  it  al- 
ways prevents  a  person  from  excusing  erroneous  action  on 
account  of  the  fact  that  it  is  in  harmony  with  his  nature. 
A  person  of  faith  comprehends  that  his    present    actual 
nature  is  to  be  transformed  gradually  into  a  higher  condi- 
tion which  is  his  real  or  ultimate  nature.     A  person  must 
act  in  harmony  with  the  first  only  to  the  extent  that  he  de- 
sires to  transform  the  first  into  the  second.     Jesus  meant 
this  condition  in  saying,  "He  that  loseth  his  life  for  my 
sake,  shall  save  it. ' ' 

33.  The  process  of  education  should  stimulate  and  con- 
tinue a  condition  of  hope.    A  hopeful  attitude  is  a  sub- 
stantial basis  for  education.     To  ensure  this  condition  the 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  271 

teacher  must  be  aware  of  the  intellectual  conditions  that 
are  the  basis  of  hope. 
When  does  the  psychological  condition  called  hope  arise  ? 

a.  The  person  must  be  aware  of  an  idealized  con- 
dition. 

b.  This  idealized  condition  must  be  one  that  he  is 
interested  in.     That  is,  it  must  involve  in  a  definite"  way 
that  identity  with  the  plans  of  the  self  which  will  stimulate 
interest. 

c.  The  person  must  also  discover  in  the  present 
environment  certain  indications  that  this  idealized  condi- 
tion will  finally  be  made  real.     Hope  is  based  on  the  notion 
of  an  idealized  condition  which  is  strongly  allied  to  the  self 
and  the  realization  of  which  is  hinted  strongly  by  existing 
conditions.     If  the  teacher  desires  to  awaken  hope  in  the 
child  she  must  make  him  distinctly  conscious  of  this  ideal- 
ized condition  and  of  its  identity  with  his  own  interests. 
She  must  then  lead  him  to  notice  all  the  indications  of  the 
present    environment    that    sustain    the   notion   that    this 
idealized  condition  will  finally  come  to  be  real.     The  mind 
of  the  child  having  been  made  aware  of  these  things  will 
necessarily  enter  into  the  condition  of  hope. 

34.  Education  involves,  at  every  stage,  some  degree  of 
discouragement  and  the  necessity  for  its  removal.  What 
knowledge  would  enable  the  teacher  to  free  the  pupil  from 
the  condition  of  discouragement?  The  knowledge  of  the 
intellectual  basis  of  discouragement  will  suffice  for  this.  In 
order  to  become  discouraged  the  pupil  must  be  aware  of  a 
certain  work  to  be  done.  He  must  also  be  aware  that  he 
is  putting  forth  well  directed  efforts  for  the  accomplishment 
of  this  work.  In  addition  to  this,  he  must  be  conscious  that 
these  well  directed  efforts  are  failing  to  solve  the  problem. 
Under  these  conditions,  he  becomes  discouraged. 


272  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

How  can  the  teacher  make  him  free  from  this  condition  ? 
By  emphasizing  three  things : 

a.  He  must  first  make  clear  to  the  pupil  the  exact 
nature  of  the  problem  which  is  to  be  solved  and  show  him 
that  the  difficulties  are  not  so  great  as  he  had  supposed. 

b.  The  pupil  is  to  be  made  more  fully  acquainted  with 
his  own  equipment  for  the  work. 

c.  He  must  be  led  to  see  that  his  well  directed  efforts 
have  been  already  successful,  to  a  degree. 

In  every  case  of  discouragement  it  would  seem  that  these 
things  can  be  accomplished  by  the  teacher.  It  requires,  of 
course,  on  the  part  of  the  teacher,  careful  reflection  concern- 
ing the  conditions. 

35.  Cheerfulness,  like  hope,  is  a  great  incentive  in  edu- 
cation.   How  can  this  condition  be  cultivated  in  children? 
It  may  be  cultivated  if  the  teacher  understands  the  nature 
of  the  feeling  itself  and  the  psychological  tendency  it  in- 
volves. 

Cheerfulness  always  relates  to  a  change  of  conditions,  or 
to  new  conditions.  If  a  person  is  cheerful  under  these  new 
conditions,  it  is  because  his  tendency  is  to  discover  in  the 
new  conditions  characteristics  that  are  desired.  For  exam- 
ple, it  may  be  a  rainy  day  with  surroundings  that  are 
usually  termed  dismal.  The  cheerful  person,  discovering 
the  undesirable  characteristics,  will  note  the  things  in  the 
present  condition  of  weather  that  are  favorable.  This  dis- 
position will  grow  by  being  exercised  upon  different  objects 
and  conditions  until  it  becomes  a  habit.  The  process  in 
arousing  the  feeling  is  thus  made  clear.  There  should  be 
an  attempt  in  connection  with  any  object  or  thought  being 
studied  to  throw  the  emphasis  of  attention  upon  characteris- 
tics that  are  beneficial  or  that  contribute  to  the  interests  of 
those  attending  to  the  object  or  condition. 

36.  A  negative  influence  in  the  educational  process  is 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  273 

the  feeling  of  sullenness.     Can  it  be  banished  by  any  well 
thought  out  process  ? 

The  mode  of  dealing  with  any  feeling  is  based  upon  the 
knowledge  of  its  intellectual  imsis.  A  child  is  sullen  under 
certain  conditions  only.  These  are  as  follows: 

a.  He  believes  that  he  has  been  wronged  by  some  other 
person ;  that  is,  by  teacher  or  pupils. 

b.  He  knows  that  no  acknowledgement  of  the  sup- 
posed wrong  has  been  made  to  him  and  that  no  other  form 
of  atonment  has  been  made  for  it. 

c.  He  is  aware  by  the  actions  of  the  teacher  or  the 
pupils  that  an  effort  is  being  made  to  treat  him  as  if  no 
wrong  had  been  done.    There  seems  to  be  an  effort  on  the 
part  of  those  who  have  wronged  him  to  ignore  the  wrong 
act  and  to  assume  the  friendly  relations  that  formerly  ex- 
isted. 

The  existence  of  this  complex  state  of  the  pupil's  Intellect, 
stimulates  the  feeling  of  sullenness.  It  is  a  definite  feeling 
based  upon  a  definite  intellectual  condition. 

In  order  to  make  the  child  free  from  the  feeling  of  sullen- 
ness,  the  teacher  must  deal  with  these  three  elements  of 
knowledge  that  have  been  indicated.  If  no  wrong  has  been 
done  toward  the  pupil  there  must  be  careful  work  to  show 
that  this  is  the  case.  If  wrong  has  been  done,  this  must  be 
acknowledged  and  atoned  for  as  fully  as  possible. 

37.  Wonder  is  the  form  of  love  which  relates  to  truth. 
It  does  not  relate,  however,  to  truth  which  has  already  been 
discovered,  although  it  may  be  awakened  by  the  undiscov- 
ered characteristic  of  that  which  is  exceedingly  familiar. 
Wonder  has  been  said  to  be  the  attitude  which  the  emo- 
tional nature  spontaneously  assumes  in  the  presence  of  a 
world  offering  many  incentives  toward  the  increase  of 
knowledge.  It  is  really  based  upon  the  assumption  that 


274  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

the  unknown  object  exhibits  in  some  way  the  nature  of  the 
self. 

The  person  who  is  in  a  state  of  wonder  feels  that  the 
investigation  of  the  truth  in  the  unknown  object  will  in 
some  way,  reveal  him  to  himself  more  fully.  It  is  a  dis- 
interested affection  for  truth,  impelling  investigation  for 
the  sake  of  the  truth  to  be  discovered  and  not  for  any  selfish 
reason.  If  one  seeks  truth,  not  for  the  sake  of  the  truth, 
but  for  the  sake  of  gratifying  his  longing  to  discover  truth, 
the  feeling  is  curiosity  instead  of  wonder.  The  educational 
significance  of  wonder  is  found  in  the  fact  that  it  is  based 
upon  unknown  characteristics  in  the  object  and  upon  the 
assumption  that  the  nature  of  the  self  would  be  more  fully 
known  if  the  object  were  more  completely  understood.  This 
gives  the  key  to  the  teacher  for  its  cultivation.  If  wonder 
is  absent  from  educational  work,  such  work  loses  its  vital- 
ity because  this  emotion  is  that  which  gives  origin  to  and 
which  continues  the  process  of  knowledge.  The  results 
of  the  educational  process  deprived  of  this  element  of 
wonder  are  forcibly  shown  in  Hard  Times  by  Charles 
Dickens. 

38.  Admiration  is  the  form  of  love  which  is  concerned 
with  beauty,  as  revealed  in  both  nature  and  art. 

It  is  the  outgoing  of  the  self  toward  beauty  which  is 
already  existing  and  also  the  tendency  toward  the  produc- 
tion of  beauty.  It  is  that  form  of  interest  which  was 
spoken  of  by  Socrates  as  love  for  the  birth  of  beauty. 

Admiration  is  awakened  by  becoming  conscious  of  the 
harmony  or  adaptation  of  a  particular  to  the  general  truth 
ivhich  it  exhibits.  It  can  be  given  an  important  cultiva- 
tion in  school  work  especially  in  the  study  of  literature 
and  the  other  forms  of  art  but  it  can  be  appealed  to 
strongly  also  in  the  study  of  nature  and  in  the  investiga- 
tion of  spiritual  growth. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  275 

39.  In  all  ages  love  has  been  ranked  with  sympathy  as 
a  central  emotional  disposition.  The  intellectual  basis  of 
it  should  be  clearly  understood.  The  object  or  content  of 
love  is  an  ideal  condition,  i.  e.,  an  unrealized  state.  It  is 
said  to  be  the  emotional  tendency  of  the  self  toward  an 
object  regarded  as  other  than  the  self.  This  implies  that 
the  self  is  disregarded.  In  this  disregard  lies  the  essence 
of  self-sacrifice.  In  the  interests  of  an  ideal  or  unrealized 
state,  there  is  a  surrender  of  the  present  self  as  to  its  im- 
mediate aims  and  advantages.  The  true  object  of  love  is 
a  developed  condition  of  the  self  or  of  another.  One  of 
the  most  important  forms  is  the  love  of  knowledge  which 
has  always  been  a  powerful  interest  in  the  lives  of  people. 
This  is  given  admirable  expression  by  Socrates  in  Plato's 
dialogue  entitled, " The  Symposium."  An  extreme  example 
of  its  strength  is  shown  in ''The  Grammarian's  Funeral," 
by  Robert  Browning.  In  this  latter  case  the  object  of  love 
seems  to  be  a  self  having  a  perfect  knowledge  of  external 
forms  of  language.  In  every  case,  however,  love  seeks  the 
realization  of  an  ideal  condition  in  the  self,  in  others,  or  in 
the  environment.  This  ideal  condition  should  always  be 
superior  to  the  present  existence  of  the  person  who  Is 
manifesting  love.  It  is  upon  this  relation  of  a  superior 
ideal  to  a  present  self  which  is  to  be  sacrificed,  to  a  degree, 
that  the  teacher  can  base  his  work  with  the  pupil.  In 
Luke  IX-24  it  was  said,  "For  whosoever  will  save  his  life 
shall  lose  it;  but  whosoever  will  lose  his  life  for  my  sake, 
the  same  shall  save  it."  The  words,  "for  my  sake"  denote 
the  ideal.  The  word  love  is  the  central  utterance  of  all 
sacred  writings.  Among  the  many  beautiful  expressions 
in  Jewish  and  Christian  Scriptures  these  may  be  noted : 

Canticles,  VIII,  9:    '%ove  is  strong  as  death." 

Canticles,  II,  4:  "He  brought  me  to  the  banqueting  house,  and  his  banner  over 
me  was  love." 

St.  John,  XVII,  23:  "And  that  the  world  may  know  that  thou  hast  sent  me,  and 
hast  loved  them,  as  thou  hast  loved  me." 


276  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

St.  John,  XVII,  24:    "For  thou  lovedst  me  before  the  foundation  of  the  world." 

St.  John,  XIV,  15:    "If  you  love  me,  keep  my  commandments." 

I  John  IV,  8:    "He  that  loveth  not,  knoweth  not  God,  for  God  is  love." 

I  John  IV,  11:    "Beloved,  if  God  so  loved  us,  we  ought  also  love  one  another. 

I  John,  IV,  19:    "We  love  him  because  he  first  loved  us.1' 

Jeremiah  XXXI,  3:    "Yea,  I  have  loved  thee  with  an  everlasting  love." 
Psalm  CXXII,  6:    "They  shall  prosper  that  love  thee." 

II  Corinthians,  XIII,  11:    "The  God  of  love  and  peace  shall  be  with  you." 
Proverbs  X,  12:    "I,ove  covereth  all  sins." 

Proverbs,  XV,  17:     "Better  is  a  dinner  of  herbs  where  love  is,  than  a  stalled  ox 
and  hatred  therewith." 

In  John  IV.,  8,  it  is  said  that  "God  is  love."  This  indi- 
cates that  God  is  conscious  of  himself  as  manifested  in  all 
objects  and  returns  the  manifestion  with  equal  ardor  as 
is  shown  in  Dante's  Purgatory,  Canto  XV.,  lines  64-67. 

"The  highest  good 
Unlimited,  ineffable,  doth  so  speed 
To  love  as  beam  to  lucid  body  darts, 
Giving  as  much  ardor  as  it  finds." 

This  universal  relation  of  love  is  shown  by  Francis  W. 
Bourdillon  in  the  following: 

"  The  night  has  a  thousand  eyes  ; 
The  day,  but  one. 
So  the  light  of  the  whole  day  dies 
At  set  of  sun. 

The  mind  has  a  thousand  eyes  ; 
The  heart,  but  one. 
So  the  light  of  the  whole  life  dies 
When  love  is  done." 

What  is  the  result  "when  love  is  done?"  There  is  no 
further  outgoing  of  the  self  toward  the  beauty  of  a  sunset, 
toward  work  of  art,  or  toward  a  fine  deed.  The  love  ot 
country  is  gone.  There  is  no  longer  any  care  for  friends  or 
relatives;  no  care  for  the  stranger  and  the  alien.  There  is 
no  love  for  one's  vocation,  for  his  ideals,  for  the  develop- 
ment of  himself  or  others ;  no  desire  for  knowledge. 

The  extent  of  this  emotion  is  shown  in  The  Symposium. 
It  was  arranged  that  those  seated  at  the  banquet  table  at 
Agathon's  home,  should,  in  the  order  seated,  each  in  his 
own  way  utter  an  encomium  on  love. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  277 

Phaedrus  spoke  first  and  Socrates  closed  the  addresses. 
Phaedrus  referred  to  the  antiquity  of  love  and  to  its  bene- 
fits. He  noted  among  the  greatest  of  these,  the  sense  of 
honor  and  dishonor. 

Pausanias  was  the  second  speaker.  He  distinguished  be- 
tween love  for  spiritual  things  and  love  for  the  physical. 

The  third  speaker  was  Eryximachus.  He  also  distin- 
guished the  spiritual  from  the  physical  love  but  he  ex- 
tended the  empire  of  love  through  all  things.  It  was,  he 
thought,  found  at  work  not  only  in  human  beings  and  ani- 
mals, but  also  in  plants  and  even  in  the  inanimate  world. 
It  was  the  harmony  of  opposites. 

Aristophanes,  who  was  the  fourth  speaker,  regarded  love 
as  a  desire  for  the  whole.  Anything  which  is  incomplete 
and  is  seeking  to  acquire  its  total  nature  was  impelled,  ac- 
cording to  his  thought,  by  love. 

Agathon's  speech  succeeded  that  of  Aristophanes.  He 
thought  that  all  things  which  are  done,  are  done  in  obedi- 
ence to  love  and  that  wherever  there  is  love  there  is  obedi- 
ence. He  also  traced  obedience  to  justice  and  therefore  re- 
garded love  as  underlying  justice. 

In  the  speech  of  Socrates,  however,  there  was  made  the 
really  great  contribution  to  the  thought  concerning  love. 
He  began  by  discussing  its  nature  and  showing  that  it  had 
for  its  object,  not  the  actual,  not  anything  which  is  really 
existing.  It  is,  as  he  said,  the  outgoing  of  the  self  toward 
an  ideal.  Its  object  is  beauty,  but  not  existing  beauty. 
Love  centers  in  the  birth  of  beauty,  that  is,  in  the  produc- 
tion of  that  which  is  beautiful,  whether  physical  or  spiritual. 
He  traced  it  in  its  grades,  showing  that  at  first  love  is  for 
one  fair  form ;  then  for  many ;  then  for  that  which  is  com- 
mon to  them;  it  then  rises  to  a  desire  for  beauty  of  mind. 
From  this,  it  ascends  to  an  interest  in  the  beauty  of  law  and 
institutions.  At  last  it  centers  in  the  beauty  of  that ' '  ever- 


278  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

lasting  nature  which  is  the  cause  of  all  things. ' '  Thus  the 
philosophical  insight  of  Socrates  conceived  love  in  its  high- 
est forms  as  the  emotional  outgoing  toward  universal  "beauty. 
Since  the  object  of  love  is  "the  everlasting  nature  which  is 
the  cause  of  all, ' '  or  absolute  truth,  it  will  be  seen  that  love 
is  kindred  to  both  wonder  and  admiration,  in  that  it  is  the 
stimulus  to  all  fields  of  investigation  in  the  world  of  beauty 
and  in  the  world  of  truth,  as  well  as  in  the  world  of  morals 
or  duty. 

The  educational  value  of  understanding  love  is  found  in 
the  emphasis  it  gives  to  the  ideal;  in  the  distinction  which 
it  involves  between  the  ideal  and  the  real  and  the  necessity 
for  the  surrender  of  much  of  the  present  for  the  sake  of  the 
higher  ideal. 

40.  Much  has  been  said  concerning  interest  and  its  rela- 
tion to  attention.  Interest  is  the  active  outgoing  of  the  self 
toward  an  object  which  is  regarded  as  the  self  or  as  in 
identity  with  the  self.  It  is  closely  akin  to  love,  but  it  in- 
volves more  fully  the  sense  that  the  object  upon  which  the 
attention  is  centered  is  the  self.  When  one  is  in  a  for- 
eign country  and  has  been  hearing  for  days  and  months  the 
foreign  language,  the  utterance  of  a  single  word  of  his  own 
language  immediately  interests  him  because  he  is  aware, 
although  sub-consciously,  that  the  object  he  is  attending  to 
is,  in  certain  respects,  the  self.  In  order  to  interest  a  pupil 
in  some  object  or  branch  of  study,  it  is  necessary  merely  for 
the  teacher  to  make  the  child  acquainted  with  the  fact  that 
the  truths  under  consideration  and  the  powers  gained  in 
the  investigation  of  them  are  in  identity  with  purposes  of 
his  own.  That  is  the  essential  procedure  in  stimulating  inter- 
est in  the  pupil.  Every  pupil  has  purposes  of  his  own; 
there  are  objects  or  actions  for  which  he  cares.  The  teacher 
should  study  him  enough  to  know  what  these  objects  are, 
and  to  know  the  actions  or  the  fields  of  knowledge  that  the 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  279 

pupil  does  not  care  for.  The  identity  between  these  and  his 
favorite  pursuits  should  be  sympathetically  shown.  The 
pupil's  interest  will  then,  necessarily,  center  in  these  ac- 
tivities or  subjects,  to  a  certain  degree. 

41.  The  process  of  choice  involves  as  has  been  noted,  a 
comparison  of  the  desired  condition  with  the  aim  of  life. 
During  the  life  of  the  race  there  have  been  many  doctrines 
as  to  the  aim  of  life  or  the  Good.  The  prominent  one  has 
been  pleasure.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  only  aim 
that  can  satisfy  the  requirements  of  life,  is  freedom.  This 
word  denotes  a  release  from  limitations.  What  things  can 
be  limited  ?  Limits  may  be  found  in  the  intellectual  nature, 
the  emotional  nature,  the  volitional  nature  and  the  bodily 
activities.  A  person  grows  in  freedom  as  his  thought  be- 
comes more  rational,  as  his  emotions  become  centered  in 
higher  and  more  refined  conditions,  as  his  choices  come  more 
and  more  to  have  as  their  content  the  habit  of  choosing  free- 
dom, and  as  his  body  becomes  harmonious  in  its  action  with 
the  spirit  it  manifests.  True  freedom  in  an  individual  re- 
quires that  he  should  seek  these  forms  of  development  in 
himself  and  in  others  equally.  This  notion  of  freedom  gives 
an  important  chart  for  educational  development.  The  aim 
of  life  is  not  merely  to  know,  to  have  fame,  to  have  posi- 
tion, not  even  to  be  sympathetic.  Sympathy  toward  a  per- 
son must  be  controlled  by  the  notion  of  giving  him  free- 
dom, i.  e.,  one  must  be  sympathetic  toward  a  person  to  the 
extent  that  this  sympathy  will  make  him  free  from  de- 
pendence upon  others. 

In  the  development  of  the  notion  of  freedom,  the  first 
ideal  was  that  freedom  consists  in  the  enjoyment  of  the 
maximum  pleasure. 

The  second  ideal  was  that  developed  by  the  Stoics.  Their 
thought  was  that  all  of  the  external  world  is  colored  by  the 
spiritual  condition  of  the  person  and  that  the  environment 


280  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

is  immaterial.  Accordingly  they  regarded  freedom  as 
obedience  to  a  universal  law.  Obedience  to  universal  law  is 
the  good.  The  individuality  of  the  person  was  to  be  sacri- 
ficed in  behalf  of  the  universal. 

According  to  Plato,  freedom  consists  in  the  subordina- 
tion of  the  inferior  nature  to  the  superior  nature.  In  the 
subordination  of  the  appetite  to  reason,  the  virtue  of  tem- 
perance arose.  In  the  subordination  of  the  ''spirited" 
nature  to  reason,  there  appears  the  virtue  of  courage.  In 
the  subordination  of  the  appetite  and  the  "spirited"  nature 
to  reason  as  comprehending  the  highest  ideal,  there  arises 
the  virtue  of  wisdom.  In  the  obedience  of  all  the  lower  ele- 
ments to  the  rational  nature  in  the  measure  that  there  is 
harmonious  activity  of  the  whole  self  in  the  pursuit  of  an 
invidual  vocation  for  the  interest  of  society,  there  arises  the 
virtue  of  righteousness. 

This  conception  of  Plato 's  is  practically  the  ideal  of  free- 
dom as  given  above.  Plato's  ideal  seems,  however,  to  have 
been  so  distinctly  separated  from  real  life  as  to  develop  in 
later  schools,  into  asceticism. 

In  Aristotle,  the  highest  standpoint  of  freedom  seems  to 
have  been  gained.  He  did  not  regard  freedom  as  con- 
sisting in  subordination  of  the  lower  nature  to  the  higher 
but  rather  in  an  obedience  to  an  ideal  which  implied  the 
largest  possible  social  range.  According  to  him,  freedom 
is  the  exercise  of  function  in  the  way  to  advance  the  in- 
terests of  society  and  the  higher  personal  interests  of  the 
individual.  He  based  this  thought  on  the  notion  that  the 
individual  is  a  social  being  by  nature.  This  latter  is  the 
first  thought  concerning  ethical  freedom  in  the  system  of 
Aristotle.  His  second  is  that  there  should  be  ample  means 
consisting  of  wealth,  friends,  time,  opportunity,  etc.,  for 
the  realization  of  this  ideal.  The  third  principle  of  his  doc- 
trine is  that  the  means  should  be  strictly  adapted  to  the 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  281 

end,  neither  wanting  nor  in  excess.  This  is  his  celebrated 
doctrine  of  the  mean. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  notion  of  freedom  given  by 
Aristotle  includes  the  idea  of  the  full  development  of  the 
intellectual,  emotional,  volitional  and  bodily  nature  of  each 
individual,  together  with  a  disposition  in  the  person  to 
bring  about  a  similar  development  in  all  others. 

There  have  been  many  attempts  since  Aristotle's  time  to 
express  the  thought  of  freedom.  Among  those  which  are 
of  a  high  standard,  is  that  given  by  Robert  L.  Stevenson 
in  ' '  A  Christmas  Sermon. ' ' 

"To  be  honest,  to  be  kind— to  earn  a  little  and  spend  a  little  less,  to  make 
upon  the  whole  a  family  happier  for  his  presence,  to  renounce  when  that  shall 
be  necessary  and  not  embittered,  to  keep  a  few  friends,  but  these  without  capitu- 
lation—above all,  on  the  same  grim  condition,  to  keep  friends  with  himself— here 
task  for  all  that  a  man  has  of  fortitude  and  delicacy."* 

John  Boyle  O'Reilly  notes  in  poetical  form  the  different 
ideals  of  life  and  his  estimate  of  them,  as  follows : 

"What  is  the  real  good  ?" 
I  asked  in  musing  mood. 
"Order,"  said  the  law  court; 
"Knowledge,"  said  the  school; 
"Truth,"  said  the  wise  man; 
"Pleasure,"  said  the  fool, 
"I,ove,"  said  the  maiden; 
"Beauty,"  said  the  page; 
'•Freedom,"  said  the  dreamer; 
"Home,"  said  the  sage; 
"Fame,"  said  the  soldier; 
"Equity,"  the  seer. 

Spake  my  heart  full  sadly: 
"The  answer  is  not  here." 
Then  within  my  bosom 
Softly  this  I  heard: 
"Each  heart  holds  the  secret; 
Kindness  is  the  word." 

It  is  evident  that  the  poet  regards  kindness  as  the  ideal 
of  life,  but  this  has  its  limitations.  One  should  manifest 


*  From  "A  Christmas  Sermon,"  by  Robert  I,.  Stevenson,  Vol.  XV,  Thistle  Edition 
page  302.  Title  of  volume:  The  Amateur  Emigrants,  Across  the  Plains,  The  Sil- 
verado Squatters. 


282  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

kindness  toward  a  person  only  to  the  extent  that  it  will 
further  his  freedom.  The  true  ideal  of  life  is  the  great 
conception  which  is  to  make  vital  educational  work,  there- 
fore it  should  receive  the  thoughtful  consideration  of  the 
teacher.  **  It  would  be  valuable  to  study  the  conception 
of  Robert  L.  Stevenson  and  of  John  Boyle  O'Reilly  in  re- 
lation to  the  ideal  given  by  Aristotle.  An  investigation  of 
this  nature  would  bring  out  the  limited  view  of  the  different 
ideals  mentioned  in  each  of  the  two  extracts  quoted. 

42.  The  teacher  can  with  great  advantage  further  the 
education  of  the  child  if  she  knows  the  process  in  desire, 
because  all  true  education  must  proceed  in  harmony  with 
the  desire  of  the  child.  This  does  not  mean,  however,  that 
the  child's  caprice  should  be  the  guide.  Desire  is  not  merely 
a  feeling.  It  is  a  complex  mental  condition  Involving  the 
intellectual,  emotional  and  volitional  aspects  of  the  self. 
It  assumes  that  some  impulse,  as,  for  example,  the  impulse 
to  travel,  or  the  impulse  to  understand  the  work  in  alge- 
bra, has  been  gratified.  As  this  impulse  was  gratified,  the 
person  was  aware  of  the  activity  which  gratified  it,  of  the 
impulse  itself,  and  of  the  pleasure  resulting  from  the  grati- 
fication of  the  impulse.  If  at  any  future  time  this  impulse 
arises,  it  is  termed  a  desire.  This  is  because  the  mere  im- 
pulse has  been  interpenetrated  by  knowledge.  The  person 
knows  or  remembers  the  former  activity,  the  impulse  that 
was  satisfied  by  it  and  the  resulting  pleasure.  He  also 
knows  the  present  condition,  that  is,  he  is  aware  that  the 
activity  which  satisfied  the  impulse  is  not  now  occurring 
and  that  the  pleasure  belonging  to  such  activity  is  not 
present.  Desire,  therefore,  involves  a  knowledge  of  a  past 
condition  and  of  an  idealized  condition  similar  to  the  past 
condition.  The  consciousness  that  at  present  the  condition 

**See  "Spiritual  Frontage,''  page  94  of  "Afternoons  in  the  College  Chapel,"  by 
Francis  G.  Peabody. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  283 

is  unrealized,  necessarily  gives  rise  to  the  affective  elements 
of  pain  and  pleasure.  Thus  desire  is  a  complex  mental 
state. 

How  may  the  teacher  awaken  in  the  pupil  a  desire  for 
a  worthy  object  or  action?  The  process  must  be  in  har- 
mony with  the  nature  of  desire  itself.  In  the  first  place, 
the  teacher  must  lead  the  child  to  remember  the  former 
impulse,  the  activities  which  answered  to  it  and  the  pleas- 
ure resulting.  He  must  then  lead  the  pupil  to  realize  that 
these  conditions  are  not  now  present,  but  that  they  are 
possible.  By  stimulating  these  mental  conditions  in  the 
child,  the  desire  for  the  idealized  condition  will  be  created. 

43.  Education  is  incomplete,  however,  if  it  ends  in  de- 
sire.    Complete   education   involves   choice    and   habitual 
modes  of  choice.    How  can  the  child  be  led  to  choose  ?     This 
process  the  teacher  must  understand.     What  is  the  first 
psychological  process  in  choice  ?    It  is  to  hold  in  conscious- 
ness at  the  same  time  two  or  more  desired  conditions.    This 
is  the  process  of  discrimination. 

In  the  second  place,  each  of  these  desired  conditions  must 
be  compared  with  the  ideal  of  life  as  a  whole  and  the  ideal 
in  the  person's  special  pursuit.  The  desired  conditions 
must  then  be  estimated  as  to  their  value  in  relation  to  the 
modes  of  life  and  of  the  special  pursuit. 

Finally,  the  person  is  led  to  assert  mentally  that  the  de- 
sired condition  which  is  most  in  harmony  with  these  aims 
shall  be  realized.  This  assertion  is  a  volitional  judgment 
and  is  called  choice.  The  education  of  the  ethical  nature 
must  proceed  in  harmony  with  the  process  of  choice. 

44.  All  educational  work  is,  in  a  sense,  the  development 
of  the  child's  conscientiousness.     Little  by  little,   under 
true  educational  influences  he  would  become  more  conscien- 
tious.    It  is  important,  however,  to  notice  that  conscience 
includes  more  than  mere  feeling.     It  is  often  spoken  of  as 


284  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

the  voice  of  God  in  the  soul.  This  makes  it  an  extra  fac- 
tor in  the  conscious  life  of  each  person  and  does  not  seem 
to  be  justified  by  psychological  analysis. 

Hamlet  says,  (Act  III.,  Scene  I,)  "Thus  conscience  does 
make  cowards  of  us  all."  This  is  usually  understood  to 
refer  to  the  emotional  response  in  the  form  of  remorse, 
but  conscience  includes  the  total  range  of  psychological  ac- 
tivities. It  does  not  differ  from  other  mental  states,  as, 
for  example,  from  the  activity  of  conceiving  the  nature  of 
a  triangle,  except  that  its  subject-matter  is  different.  Con- 
science is  concerned  with  conduct,  with  the  relation  of  a 
particular  act  to  an  ideal. 

The  cultivation  of  it  must  be  based  upon  its  own  process. 
It  is,  therefore,  important  to  note  carefully  the  process  of 
conscience. 

The  first  stage  in  a  process  of  conscience  is  the  apprehen- 
sion of  a  worthy  ideal. 

This  ideal  is  then  held  in  consciousness  over  against  the 
idea  of  a  particular  act  of  the  individual. 

This  is  succeeded  by  the  process  of  choosing  to  perform 
the  particular  act. 

If  the  particular  act  harmonizes  with  the  ideal,  the  feel- 
ing of  approbation  arises.  If  it  is  out  of  harmony,  the 
feeling  of  disapprobation  is  produced.  It  is  this  feeling 
which  is  spoken  of  as  the  stings  of  conscience. 

It  is  seen  therefore  that  the  full  process  of  conscience 
is  intellectual,  emotional,  and  volitional. 

In  the  endeavor,  therefore,  to  make  the  child  grow  more 
and  more  conscientious  the  teacher  must  seek  to  make  more 
clear  to  him  worthy  ideals,  to  give  him  the  habit  of  noting 
carefully  his  particular  acts  in  relation  to  these  ideals,  to 
cultivate  in  him  the  habit  of  choosing  the  particular  act 
which  is  in  harmony  with  the  ideal  so  that  he  may  experi- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  285- 

ence  the  feeling  of  approbation  which  belongs  to  the  sense 
of  progress. 

To  this  end  Polonius  says  (Hamlet,  Act  I.,  Scene  iii.)  : 

"This  above  all:  to  thine  own  self  be  true, 
And  it  must  follow,  as  the  night  the  day, 
Thou  canst  not  then  be  false  to  any  man." 

45.  The  universal   or   central   element   in   behavior   is 
obedience  to  an  ideal  or  criterion.     It  is  to  be  remembered, 
however,  that  all  behavior  is  obedience  to  some  ideal  or 
criterion.     The  first  thing  of  importance  in  behavior  is  the 
possession  of  an  adequate  ideal.     Is  pleasure  an  adequate 
ideal  ?     Is  the  attainment  of  success  in  the  way  of  the  pos- 
session of  wealth,  of  office,  of  reputation  an  adequate  ideal  ? 
Is  the  Stoical  ideal  of  an  ability  to  possess  one's  self  under 
adverse  circumstances,  an  adequate  ideal?     Can  any  ideal 
other  than  freedom  be  adequate?     Must  not  freedom  itself 
be  conceived  as  the  development  of  one's  intellectual,  emo- 
tional, volitional  and  physical  nature  and  that  of  all  others 
equally?     Freedom  is  the  obedience  to  the  law  of  one's 
social  nature,  for  as  Aristotle  said,  "Man  is  a  social  ani- 
mal."    In  all  educational  work  the  teacher  must  regard 
this  ideal,  and  say  to  himself,  "This  work  in  arithmetic, 
this  work  in  grammar,  this  work  in  history,  is  to  increase 
the  child's  freedom  in  the  four  respects  mentioned,  and 
among  his  tendencies  is  to  be  a  desire  to    work  for  his  own- 
freedom  and  for  that  of  others  equally." 

The  second  thing  in  obedience  is  to  act  in  harmony  with 
the  ideal  until  such  action  becomes  a  habit. 

46.  Growth    in   behavior  is  evidently,  a  passage  from 
obedience  to  some  external  ideal,  through  obedience  to  a 
mere  subjective  ideal,  to  obedience  to  a  criterion  which  is  not 
merely  subjective.   The  obedience  which  is  not  merely  sub- 
jective must  be  an  obedience  to  an  ideal  which  is  reflected  in 
the  thought  of  humanity  and  corresponds  to  its  universal 


286  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

nature.  This  ideal  is  almost  fully  comprehended  in  Plato 's 
conception  of  the  subordination  of  the  " appetitive"  and 
"spirited"  elements  to  the  rational,  but,  probably,  the  only 
ideal  which  adequately  represents  the  ethical  nature,  is 
Aristotle's  conception  of  "the  exercise  of  function  de- 
voted to  wide  social  ends  and  permanent  personal  interests. ' ' 
This  is  the  ideal  of  freedom.  This  truth  can  aid  in  the  daily . 
work  of  the  school  by  stimulating  the  teacher  to  inquire 
whether  his  management  of  the  school  appeals  to  an  ex-" 
ternal  ideal,  to  some  merely  subjective  state  or  to  a  free- 
dom that  belongs  to  the  individual  and  to  others  equally. 
The  test  question  is,  "Am  I  training  the  child  to  hold  be- 
fore him  the  ideal  of  laboring  for  the  intellectual,  emotional, 
volitional  and  physical  advancement  of  others  and  himself 
equally?  Am  I  training  the  child  so  that  he  would  be  un- 
willing to  increase  his  intellectual  power  if  it  decreased  the 
opportunity  of  others  for  intellectual  power  ? ' ' 

47.  Total  knowledge  of  an  object  or  action  is  an  incen- 
tive to  virtue.  As  indicated  above,  it  is  sometimes  held 
that  the  individual  is  injured  by  increase  of  knowledge  if 
his  ethical  strength  is  not  also  directly  educated.  Was  not 
Socrates  correct,  however,  in  holding  that  "knowledge  is 
virtue,"  if  he  meant  that  an  adequate  insight  into  objects 
and  events  enables  the  person  to  discover  that  evil  is  always 
folly,  and  that  virtue  alone  is  permanently  beneficial  to  all 
elements  of  the  person's  being?  If  one's  intelligence  is 
slight,  he  may  unduly  estimate  the  pleasure  that  belongs 
to  evil  acts  considered  in  their  isolation.  If  his  intelligence 
becomes  more  complete,  he  will  be  able  to  understand  that 
this  apparent  advantage  in  evil  is  very  transient  and  that 
the  final  result,  which  is  the  result  considered  in  relation  to 
the  whole  social  order,  can  be  only  negative  and  disastrous. 
Sometimes  a  person  speaks  of  an  "educated  rascal."  The 
word,  "educated,"  as  thus  used  is  very  limited  in  Its  ap- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  287 

plication.  If  the  person  were  truly  educated,  one  of  the 
things  that  would  be  most  plain  to  him  is  that  it  is  folly 
only  to  engage  in  conduct  that  may  be  called  rascality.  It 
is  only  the  partially  educated  person  who  engages  in  evil 
works. 

48.  The  rules  of  a  school  are  to  be  made  by  neither 
teacher  nor  pupil  in  the  ultimate  sense,  since  they  are 
grounded  on  the  nature  of  the  organization  itself.     They 
belong  to  the  organization,  however,  since  they  are  found 
in  the  nature  of  the  child  who  is  to  be  educated.    The  regu- 
lation regarding  promptness  in  attendance  is  really  founded 
in  the  needs  of  the  child.     Possessed  of  this  thought,  the 
teacher  will  lead  the  pupil  to  know  that  the  rules  of  the 
school  are  not  externally  imposed,  but  that  they  are  the 
outgrowth  of  his  process  of  development.     If  this  thought 
is  shared  by  both  teacher  and  pupil,  the  external  rules  of 
the  school  could  be  formulated,  to  some  extent,  by  the 
pupils  themselves,  and  this  formulation  could  become  more 
prominent  from  year  to  year.     This  would  arouse  In  the 
children  the  sense  that  they  are  self-directive.     Progress 
in  this  direction  should,  however,  receive  the  careful  over- 
sight of  the  teacher  so  as  to  free  it  from  the  influences  of 
caprice.     The  cause  of  self-government  in  school  has  some- 
times been  injured  by  having  the  process  begin  at  too  early 
an  age.     The  idea  that  the  child  is  finally  to  become  self- 
governing,  should,  however,  be  a  guiding  principle  to  the 
teacher  and  should  be  practically  recognized  at  all  times 
when  such  recognition  promises  to  further  the  true  develop- 
ment of  the  child  and  the  efficiency  of  the  school. 

49.  The  regulations  of  a  school  that  are  not  originally 
made  by  the  pupils  should  be,  in  a  certain  sense,  re-created 
by  them  so  as  to  make  them  their  own.     In  other  words, 
they  should  be  led  to  know  the  reasons  underlying  these 
regulations,  even  in  the  early  grades,  to  a  slight  extent.    As 


288  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

they  progress  from  grade  to  grade  it  should  be  the  en- 
deavor to  have  them  comprehend  the  reasons  under  the 
regulations  more  and  more  fully.  When  a  pupil  knows 
that  a  regulation  is  reasonable  because  it  helps  his  develop- 
ment, he  adopts  it  as  his  own. 

50.  The  work  of  instruction  in  school  should  be  so  di- 
rected as  to  establish  in  the  pupil  only  such  tendencies  as 
will  reinforce  the  activity  of  rational  institutions.     To  lead 
a  true  life  in  the  rational  institutions  means  that  one  should 
be  reliable  in  his  statements,  clear  in  his  thinking,  resolute 
in  his  will.     It  means  that  he  should  be  obedient  to  the 
higher  ideals  of  thought.    Each  institution,  as  the  state,  the 
family,  the  church,  is  assumed  to  represent  the  higher  ra- 
tional life  of  the  individual.     In  order  to  make  progress, 
the  individual  must  harmonize  his  particular  life  with  this 
larger  life.     Therefore,  in  the  schools,  the  child  should  be 
given  that  information,  those  modes  of  emotional  response 
and  those  habits  that  would  equip  him  for  effective,  har- 
monious work  in  the  institutions  of  society.     It  is  evident 
that  this  principle  bears  directly  upon  both  the  second  and 
third  aspects  of  self-determination. 

51.  The   result   of  instruction   in   school   should   be   a 
gradual  increase  of  independence  or  self -direction  in  the 
pupil.     In  his  study  of  a  paragraph  or  in  his  solution  of 
a  problem,  he  should  work  under  the  direction  of  tne  teacher 
in  just  that  way  which  is  best  fitted  to  prepare  him  to  ac- 
complish the  work  with  least  aid  from  the  teacher.     The 
questions  should  be  put  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  him  self- 
reliant.      They   should   require   answers  that   can   not   be 
given  by  the  immediate  examination  of  the  text.    This  prin- 
ciple emphasizes  the  fact  that  the  self  is  not  to  be  controlled 
by  environment,  but  rather  by  its  own  nature. 

52.  The  necessary  stimulus  to  education  is  the  sense  of 
limit.     The  child  will  not  be  interested  in  studying  the 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  289 

nature  of  the  adjective  until  he  has  been  led  to  feel  that 
without  the  power  to  use  it  he  is  hampered  in  some  way. 
He  will  not  be  particularly  interested  in  being  prompt  in 
attendance  unless  he  is  led  to  know  that  lack  of  promptness 
interferes  with  his  progress.  He  will  not  endeavor  to  free 
himself  from  some  lack  in  his  ethical  nature  unless  he  is 
made  conscious  of  that  lack  and  is  shown  that  it  hinders 
the  aims  that  he  has. 

53.  The  course  of  study,  the  program  for  the  day's 
work,  as  well  as  the  treatment  of  an  single  subject  or  topic, 
should  involve,  to  a  degree,  training  in  the  contemplation 
and  the  expression  of  truth,  beauty  and  goodness.  The 
child  is  a  complex  being,  his  nature  being  cognitive,  emo- 
tional and  volitional.  Therefore,  a  complete  education  re- 
quires that  the  material  being  dealt  with  should  stimulate 
and  improve  him,  in  so  far  as  possible,  in  all  three  of  these 
capacities.  It  seems  possible  to  have  the  investigation  of 
the  American  Revolution  contribute  in  all  of  these  direc- 
tions. Of  course,  in  any  case,  the  work  will  of  necessity  be 
predominantly  one  of  the  three. 

The  principle  implies  that  the  teacher  should  reflect  in 
order  to  determine  to  what  extent  the  material  being  ex- 
amined will  stimulate  the  child's  intellect  and  his  aesthetic 
and  ethical  activity. 

The  contemplation  of  this  principle  may  lead  the  teacher 
to  ask,  for  example,  ''Can  the  study  of  the  adverb  contri- 
bute to  the  child's  aesthetic  and  ethical  training  as  well  as 
to  his  intellectual  development?" 

"Is  the  intellectual  realm  entirely  isolated  from  the 
aesthetic  and  the  ethical  ? "  It  is  important  to  consider  this 
because  a  person  often  speaks  as  if  the  child  could  be 
trained  in  a  satisfactory  way  intellectually  without  any  ad- 
vancement as  to  his  aesthetic  and  ethical  nature.  Is  this 
true? 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  291 


APPENDIX  I. 


SERIES    OF    SENTENCES    EXPRESSING    THE 
STAGES  IN  VARIOUS  ACTIVITIES. 

THE  CONSTRUCTION  OP  A  FOUR-INCH  SQUARE. 

The  point  is  resting. 
It  moves  to  the  right  four  inches. 
It  rests  again. 
A  straight  line  appears. 
It  is  horizontal. 

The  point  moves  perpendicularly  downward  four  inches. 
It  rests  a  third  time. 
A  second  straight  line  is  produced. 
It  is  vertical. 

It  is  perpendicular  to  the  first  line. 
The  difference  in  direction  forms  an  angle. 
It  is  a  right  angle. 

The  point  moves  perpendicularly  to  the  left  four  inches. 
It  rests  a  fourth  time. 
A  third  straight  line  is  formed. 
It  is  horizontal. 
It  is  parallel  to  the  first  line. 
It  is  perpendicular  to  the  second  line. 
The  difference  in  direction  of  the  second  and  third  lines 
forms  a  right  angle. 

The  point  moves  directly  to  the  place  of  starting. 
A  fourth  straight  line  is  produced. 
Here  the  point  finally  rests. 


292  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

FILLING  A  TEAKETTLE. 
I  am  standing  near  the  kitchen  window. 
I  am  looking  out  of  the  window. 
I  know  the  teakettle  is  empty. 
I  think  the  teakettle  as  filled. 
I  go  to  the  stove. 

I  take  hold  of  the  knob  on  the  lid  of  the  teakettle. 
I  remove  the  lid  of  the  teakettle. 
I  continue  to  hold  the  lid  in  my  left  hand. 
I  walk  to  the  bucket  of  water. 
I  find  the  dipper  hanging  on  a  nail. 
I  take  hold  of  the  handle  of  the  dipper  near  the  bowl. 
I  fill  the  dipper  with  water. 

I  walk  to  the  stove  with  the  dipper  full  of  water. 
I  pour  the  water  from  the  dipper  into  the  teakettle. 
I  walk  to  the  water  bucket  again. 
I  fill  the  dipper  a  second  time. 
I  walk  back  to  the  stove. 

I  empty  the  water  from  the  dipper  into  the  teakettle. 
A  third  time  I  walk  to  the  bucket  of  water. 
I  refill  the  dipper. 

I  pour  the  contents  of  the  dipper  into  the  teakettle. 
I  place  the  lid  on  the  teakettle. 
I  hang  the  dipper  up  in  its  proper  place. 
I  return  to  the  window. 
I  again  look  out  of  the  window. 

THE  ACT  OF  SPRINKLING  A  SLATE. 

Edwin  sits  at  his  desk. 

He  stands. 

He  walks  toward  the  sprinkling  bottle. 

He  draws  near  to  the  sprinkling  bottle. 

He  reaches  out  his  hand. 

He  takes  hold  of  the  sprinkling  bottle. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  293 

He  turns. 

He  walks  toward  his  desk. 

He  draws  near  to  his  desk. 

He  stops. 

He  turns  the  sprinkling  bottle  upside  down. 

He  throws  water  on  his  slate. 

He  throws  water  on  his  slate  again. 

He  turns  the  sprinkling  bottle  right  side  up. 

He  walks  toward  the  blackboard. 

He  draws  near  to  the  blackboard. 

He  reaches  out  his  hand. 

He  places  the  sprinkling  bottle  in  the  ledge. 

He  turns. 

He  walks  to  his  desk. 

He  sits  at  his  desk. 

AN  ACT  IN  GRAVITATION. 

A  guinea-and-feather  tube  is  lying  on  the  table. 

It  is  full  of  air. 

A  circle  of  paper  and  one  of  brass  are  in  the  tube. 

They  are  of  the  same  size. 

I  pick  up  the  tube. 

I  hold  it  in  my  hand  with  the  top  up. 

I  invert  it. 

The  force  of  gravitation  pulls  the  paper  and  the  brass 
toward  the  center  of  the  earth. 

The  air  resists  the  downward  movement. 

The  brass  displaces  the  air  and  falls  rapidly  to  the  lower 
end  of  the  tube. 

The  paper  displaces  the  air  more  slowly  than  does  the 
brass. 

It  flutters  in  the  air. 

It  finally  reaches  the  lower  end  of  the  tube. 

I  turn  the  tube  top  end  up. 


294  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

The  force  of  gravitation  pulls  the  paper  and  the  brass 
toward  the  center  of  the  earth. 

The  brass  reaches  the  bottom  sooner  than  the  paper. 

I  screw  a  stop-cock  to  the  bottom  of  the  tube. 

I  fasten  one  end  of  a  rubber  tube  to  the  stop-cock. 

I  fasten  the  other  end  to  the  air  pump. 

I  grasp  the  handle  of  the  air  pump. 

I  move  it  vigorously  up  and  down  many  times. 

This  exhausts  the  air  from  the  tube. 

I  turn  the  thumb-screw  on  the  stop-cock. 

This  prevents  the  air  from  entering  the  tube. 

I  take  the  rubber  tube  off  the  stop-cock. 

I  again  invert  the  tube. 

The  paper  and  the  brass  reach  the  lower  end  of  the  tube 
at  the  same  time. 

A   REPLY   TO   AN   INVITATION. 

Edna  is  in  receipt  of  an  invitation  to  dinner. 

She  recalls  all  her  engagements  for  the  week. 

She  finds  that  she  has  no  engagement  for  the  evening 
named  in  the  invitation. 

She  decides  to  accept  the  invitation. 

She  goes  to  the  writing  desk. 

She  selects  a  sheet  of  un-ruled  note  paper,  black  ink,  and 
a  good  pen. 

She  writes  the  following  note: 

Mi^s  Edna  Crafton  accepts  with  pleasure  Miss  Katharine 
Stanford's  kind  invitation  to  dine  with  her  on  Monday 
evening. 

She  selects  an  envelope  to  correspond  with  her  paper. 

She  folds  the  note  once. 

She  slips  it  into  the  envelope. 

She  addresses  it. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  295 

She  places  a  stamp  on  the  upper  right  hand  corner  of  the 
envelope. 

She  posts  the  note. 

A  TEST  IN  CHEMISTRY. 

I  place  the  oxygen  generator  on  the  table. 

I  fill  one-third  of  a  test-tube  with  potassium  chlorate  and 
black  oxide  of  manganese. 

I  cork  the  tube  and  connect  by  rubber  tubing  with  the 
bottles  in  the  generator. 

I  light  the  gas. 

I  heat  the  tube  gently  at  first. 

I  gradually  increase  the  heat. 

The  heat  expands  the  air  in  the  tube. 

The  air  escapes  in  bubbles. 

The  air  escapes  more  rapidly  in  bubbles. 

I  heat  the  tube  until  I  have  sufficient  oxygen  for  my  pur- 
pose. 

I  cover  one  of  the  bottles  with  a  glass  slide  so  that  the 
oxygen  will  not  escape. 

I  remove  the  bottle. 

I  take  a  piece  of  magnesium  ribbon. 

I  put  it  into  the  flame. 

It  burns  with  a  bluish-white  light. 

It  combines  with  the  oxygen  of  the  air. 

It  forms  a  white  powder. 

This  powder  is  oxide  of  magnesium. 

I  take  another  piece  of  magnesium  ribbon. 

I  light  it  in  the  flame. 

I  remove  the  slide  from  the  bottle. 

I  put  the  ribbon  into  the  bottle. 

It  burns  with  a  blue  light. 

It  deposits  a  white  powder. 


296  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

I  compare  this  powder  with  the  powder  left  from  the  first 
experiment. 

I  conclude  that  the  magnesium  ribbon  burns  more  freely 
in  the  bottle  than  in  the  air. 

I  find  they  are  similar. 

I  see  that  it  burns  more  freely  in  the  bottle  since  there  is 
more  oxygen  there. 

I  infer  that  in  both  cases  the  magnesium  unites  with  the 
oxygen. 

THE  ACT  OF  LAYING  A  BRICK. 

The  mason  stands  beside  the  wall  which  he  is  building. 

He  procures  a  trowel  full  of  mortar  from  the  mortar 
board. 

He  spreads  it  evenly  over  the  place  where  he  intends  to 
lay  the  brick. 

He  gets  another  trowel  full  of  mortar. 

He  picks  up  a  brick  from  the  ground. 

He  throws  up  a  cross  or  header  joint. 

He  lays  the  brick  on  the  wall  very  carefully. 

He  probably  taps  the  brick  lightly  with  the  handle  of  the 
trowel,  or  with  the  edge  of  the  blade. 

This  settles  the  brick  into  the  correct  position. 

He  scrapes  the  mortar,  which  has  been  pushed  out  by  the 
brick,  from  the  side  of  the  wall. 

He  spreads  the  mortar,  just  gathered,  over  the  top  of  the 
brick. 

He  pauses  in  his  work  to  speak  with  a  friend  who  is  pass- 
ing. 

TRANSACTION    ON    SHORT    CREDIT. 

James  Smith,  the  grocer,  sells  John  Jones  ten  pounds  of 
sugar  and  ten  pounds  of  salt  on  credit,  the  account  to  be 
paid  in  a  short  time. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 


297 


Mr.  Smith  turns  to  his  day-book  and  makes  an  entry, 
thus 


Nov.       9     John  Jones,  Dr. 

To  10ft  Sugar  @  6c.  I 

10ft  Salt  @2c.  20  80 

In  the  evening,  Mr.  Smith  posts  this  account  in  his  led- 
ger, which  in  this  case  is  a  small  indexed  account  file,  with 
detachable  slips. 

In  ten  days  Mr.  Jones  calls  to  pay  his  account. 

Mr.  Smith  immediately  opens  his  account  file  at  the  letter 
"J,"  and  sees  Mr.  Jones'  account. 

He  takes  out  the  slip,  receipts  it,  and  hands  it  to  Mr. 
Jones,  who  thereupon  pays  it. 

Mr.  Smith  then  turns  to  his  cash  register  and  registers 
80  cents,  counting  it  as  a  cash  sale  of  the  day. 


TRANSACTION  INVOLVING  AN  INDEFINITE  ACCOUNT. 

James  Smith,  the  grocer,  is  asked  by  John  Jones  for  credit 
for  three  or  four  months. 

Mr.  Smith  consents,  takes  his  order,  and  enters  it  in  his 
day-book,  thus: 


Nov. 


John  Jones,  Dr. 

To  10ft  Sugar  @  6c. 
19ft  Salt  @  2c. 


80 


In  the  evening  Mr.  Smith  opens  an  account  with  Mr. 
Jones  in  a  large  ledger  in  which  he  keeps  all  accounts  which 
run  indefinitely,  and  makes  an  entry,  thus : 

JOHN  JONES, 


Dr. 


Cr. 


Page 

Page 

Book. 

Cash 
Book 

Nov. 

9 

To  Mdse. 

80c 

298  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

All  succeeding  orders  are  posted  nightly  to  this  same  ac- 
count. 

In  three  months'  time  Mr.  Jones  calls  to  pay  his  account. 

Mr.  Smith  turns  to  his  ledger,  states  the  amount,  and  re- 
ceives the  cash. 

Mr.  Smith  then  makes  out  a  bill  and  receipts  it,  giving  it 
to  Mr.  Jones. 

He  then  takes  his  cash-book  and  makes  an  entry,  credit- 
ing Mr.  Jones'  account  in  full. 

This  Cash-book  entry  is  posted  in  the  ledger,  and  Mr. 
Jones'  account  is  balanced  and  closed  up. 

A   GEOLOGIC   ACTIVITY. 

A  granite  peak  stands  upon  the  crest  of  a  mountain  range. 

The  rock  is  made  up  of  white  crystalline  masses  of  hard 
quartz,  red  crystalline  masses  of  softer  feldspar,  and  glit- 
tering gold-colored  leaves  of  soft  mica. 

The  rain  and  snow  water  soak  into  the  pores  of  the  rock. 

The  water  freezes  in  the  pores  of  the  rock  and  by  expand- 
ing makes  cracks  in  it. 

The  water  dissolves  and  carries  away  some  portions  of  the 
rock,  and  thus  loosens  the  undissolved  portions. 

When  the  sun  shines  the  rock  gets  very  warm  and  ex- 
pands; when  the  sun  sets  the  rock  gets  very  cold  and  con- 
tracts ;  the  expansion  and  contraction  break  it  up  still  more. 

The  roots  of  trees  penetrate  the  cracks,  and  as  they  grow 
in  size  force  the  sides  of  the  cracks  further  apart. 

The  air  goes  into  the  rock  with  the  water  and  rots  and 
softens  some  of  the  material. 

The  larger  and  more  numerous  the  cracks  become  the 
more  is  the  rock  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  air,  water,  heat 
and  frost. 

As  soon  as  a  piece  of  rock,  large  or  small,  becomes  loos- 
ened, gravity  pulls  it  down  the  steep  slope. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  299 

The  rain  and  melted  snow  run  over  the  surface  and  wash 
away  the  loose  fragments. 

In  the  course  of  thousands  of  years  the  granite  peak 
crumbles  to  pieces  and  is  carried  away  down  into  the  valley. 

The  stream  at  the  bottom  of  the  valley  carries  away  the 
fragments  of  rocks  that  fall  into  it. 

When  the  snows  melt  in  the  spring  the  stream  is  a  torrent 
which  rolls  and  pushes  along  great  stones  and  boulders. 

When  the  flood  subsides  the  stream  is  able  to  carry  only 
sand  and  gravel. 

As  the  sand,  gravel  and  boulders  are  carried  down  stream 
they  are  knocked  about  and  rolled  over  one  another  and 
against  the  rocky  bed  of  the  stream. 

The  corners  and  edges  of  the  sand  grains  and  gravel 
stones  are  worn  off;  they  grow  smaller  in  size  and  become 
more  and  more  rounded. 

As  they  go  further  down  stream  the  pieces  of  hard  quartz 
change  least  rapidly,  but  the  softer  pieces  of  feldspar  and 
mica  are  reduced  to  a  fine  soft  powder. 

The  quartz  never  becomes  finer  than  sand. 

The  stream  is  joined  by  other  streams  and  becomes  a 
river. 

The  river  carries  along  in  its  current  the  rounded  gravel, 
the  grains  of  sand  and  the  fine,  soft  powder,  now  called  mud 
or  clay. 

As  the  river  approaches  the  sea  its  slope  becomes  more 
gentle  and  its  current  slower. 

As  the  current  slackens  it  is  less  able  to  carry  the  coarser 
material. 

It  first  drops  the  gravel,  then  the  sand,  and  finally  is  able 
to  carry  only  the  mud. 

At  high  water  the  force  of  the  stream  is  greater,  and  it 
picks  up  again  the  sediment  it  has  dropped,  only  to  drop  it 
again  further  down  stream. 


300  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

The  sediment  is  dropped  and  picked  up  again  a  thousand 
times,  but  at  last  is  carried  into  the  ocean. 

As  the  current  of  the  river  is  gradually  checked  by  the 
still  water  of  the  ocean,  the  coarser  particles  of  sediment 
settle  to  the  bottom  and  form  a  sand  bar. 

The  finer  mud  is  carried  further  out  to  sea  and  settles 
to  form  a  mud  bank. 

Thus  the  tendency  of  the  river  is  to  sort  out  the  coarser 
sediment  from  the  fine,  and  to  deposit  all  the  sand  in  one 
place  and  all  the  mud  in  another. 

The  velocity  of  the  current  varies  from  season  to  season 
and  from  year  to  year. 

The  river  at  one  time  deposits  sand  and  at  another  time 
mud,  in  the  same  place. 

The  sediment  is  always  deposited  in  nearly  horizontal  lay- 
ers, one  above  another,  and  is  always  more  or  less  assorted 
into  layers  of  sand  and  layers  of  clay. 

Frequently  the  sand  and  clay  are  mixed  together  in  the 
same  layer,  and  in  different  proportions  in  different  layers. 

The  waves,  tides  and  currents  of  the  ocean  transport  and 
assort  or  mix  up  the  river  sediment  and  deposit  it  again  in 
new  forms  and  positions. 

Everywhere  along  the  cost  and  for  miles  out  to  sea  the 
waste  of  the  land  accumulates  in  beds  of  sand  and  clay. 

As  the  beds  are  piled  on  each  other  the  pressure  on  the 
lower  ones  becomes  greater. 

The  sand  beds  are  compressed  and  consolidated  into  sand- 
stone, the  clay  beds  into  shale  and  the  mixed  beds  Into  mixed 
sandstone  and  shale. 

The  pile  becomes  very  thick  and  heavy,  and  with  the 
ever-increasing  load  the  crust  of  the  earth  under  it  is 
pressed  down. 

The  crust  of  the  earth  is  not  strong  enough  to  sustain 
the  weight  and  slowly  sinks,  forming  a  great  trough. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  301 

As  the  trough  becomes  deeper  it  is  kept  even  full  of  sedi- 
ment. 

As  the  thickness  of  the  sediment  increases  the  upper  sur- 
face remains  near  the  surface  of  the  water. 

The  sediment  sometimes  becomes  eight  miles  thick. 

As  the  beds  of  sandstone  and  shale  sink  nearer  to  the 
center  of  the  earth  they  grow  hotter. 

At  a  certain  depth  they  become  as  hot  as  red-hot  iron. 

The  pores  of  the  sandstone  and  shale  are  filled  with  sea 
water. 

By  means  of  the  great  pressure  of  the  beds  above  them, 
the  high  temperature  and  the  water,  the  sandstone  and  shale 
become  partially  liquid. 

In  the  course  of  ages  the  mineral  matter  of  which  they 
are  composed  again  crystalizes  into  masses  of  hard,  white 
quartz,  softer  red  feldspar  and  soft,  glittering  mica. 

The  sand  and  mud  beds  have  been  converted  into  granite. 

The  looseness  and  softness  of  the  material  which  fills  the 
trough  of  the  earth-crust  makes  the  crust  weaker  all  along 
the  shore  of  a  continent. 

The  pressure  from  the  stronger  earth-crust  on  both  sides 
squeezes  the  weaker  part  of  the  crust  into  wrinkles  and 
folds. 

The  folds  are  slowly  crushed  together  and  slowly  raised 
higher. 

The  upper  edges  of  the  folds  rise  above  the  sea  and  are 
finally  pushed  up  into  new  mountain  ranges. 

Air,  rain,  heat,  frost  and  gravity  attack  the  rising  land. 

The  covering  of  sandstone  and  shale  is  finally  stripped 
off,  exposing  the  granite  below  them. 

Again  a  granite  peak  stands  upon  the  crest  of  a  mountain 
range. 


302  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

THE  ACT  BY  WHICH  AN  ALIEN  BECOMES  A  CITIZEN. 

Mr.  Shannon  comes  to  the  United  States  from  Ireland. 

He  wishes  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 

He  presents  himself  before  the  District  Court  of  the 
United  States. 

He  declares  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States. 

This  declaration  is  recorded  by  the  clerk  of  the  court. 

He  receives  a  certificate  from  the  clerk. 

He  returns  to  his  home. 

He  spends  his  time  in  work  at  his  trade. 

He  also  makes  himself  familiar  with  the  laws  of  the 
United  States. 

He  again  presents  himself  before  the  court, 

He  proves  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  court  that  he  has  re- 
sided five  years  within  the  United  States. 

He  also  proves  that  he  has  lived  in  the  state  one  year. 

He  affirms  that  he  has  borne  a  good  moral  character. 

He  proves  that  he  has  been  well  disposed  toward  the  con- 
stitution and  government. 

He  renounces  allegiance  to  every  foreign  power,  includ- 
ing that  of  which  he  was  formerly  a  subject. 

He  takes  an  oath  that  he  will  support  the  constitution  of 
the  United  States. 

He  receives  his  certificate  of  citizenship  from  the  clerk. 

HOW  AN  ACORN  BECOMES  AN  ACORN  AGAIN. 

An  acorn  has  just  fallen  from  an  oak  tree. 

The  acorn  consists  of  a  germ  surrounded  by  a  hard  outer 
covering  which  serves  for  protection. 

The  germ  has  stored  within  it  large  amounts  of  nourish- 
ment which  it  is  to  use  in  its  growth  until  it  shall  have  de- 
veloped far  enough  to  make  its  own  food. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  303 

The  germ  consists  of  a  little  stem,  the  caulicle,  of  two 
seed  leaves,  the  cotyledons,  and  of  the  tiny  plumule. 

The  cold  winds  of  fall  and  the  snow  and  frosts  of  winter 
make  the  acorn  lie  dormant  during  these  seasons. 

Approaching  spring  ushers  in  bright  sunshine  and  warm 
rains. 

The  warmth  and  moisture  quicken  the  latent  energies  of 
the  acorn. 

The  germ  begins  to  imbibe  water,  and  swells. 

The  insoluble  foodstuffs  stored  in  the  acorn  are  converted 
into  soluble  ones  by  the  energy  of  the  germ. 

A  dialysis  of  this  material  causes  a  flow  of  these  food- 
stuffs to  the  growing  points  of  the  acorn. 

The  continued  swelling  caused  by  all  these  changes  bursts 
the  acorn  shell. 

Out  of  the  cleft  the  growing  caulicle  protrudes. 

The  caulicle  rapidly  elongates  and  penetrates  the  ground 
a  short  distance. 

On  the  underground  portion  of  the  caulicle  small  rootlets 
begin  to  grow. 

The  seed  leaves  remaining  in  the  shell  furnish  nourish- 
ment to  the  growing  parts. 

The  first  leaves  of  the  plumule  appear  above  ground. 

The  sunshine  on  the  plumule  leaves  incites  tne  production 
in  the  leaf  of  green  chlorophyll. 

By  means  of  this  chlorophyll  the  young  plant  forms  the 
third  set  of  leaves  as  well  as  the  growing  tip  of  the  stem. 

On  the  growing  tip  new  leaves  appear  in  regular  succes- 
sion. 

In  the  axils  of  these  leaves  branches  grow. 

By  the  continued  growth  of  these  parts  the  little  germ 
becomes  a  small  oak  plant. 

A  continuation  of  these  changes  through  many  years 
changes  the  oak  plant  into  an  oak  tree. 


304  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

The  oak  tree  bears  small  inconspicuous  flowers. 

These  flowers  are  of  two  kinds. 

The  sterile  flowers  produce  stamens  in  which  many  small 
powdery  grains  called  pollen  grains  are  found. 

The  fertile  flowers  produce  pistils. 

Each  pistil  bears  two  ovules. 

The  wind  carries  some  of  the  pollen  grains  to  the  tip  of 
the  pistil  called  the  stigma. 

The  pollen  grains  grow  down  through  the  pistil  until  they 
reach  the  ovules. 

They  penetrate  into  the  ovules  and  fuse  with  the  egg  cell. 

The  egg  cell  of  one  ovule  grows  into  a  small  germ. 

The  other  ovule  becomes  abortive. 

Each  pistil  now  contains  but  one  germ  or  »eed. 

The  germ  devolps  large  seed  leaves  or  cotyledons  and 
stores  them  with  nourishment. 

The  pistil  forms  a  firm  shell  around  the  contained  seed. 

The  calyx  of  the  flower  helps  to  form  this  shell. 

The  involucre  around  the  base  of  the  pistil  forms  a  leafy 
cup  in  which  the  ripened  pistil  rests. 

The  leafy  involucre  and  the  pistil  are  together  commonly 
termed  the  acorn. 

The  acorn  receives  nourishment  all  during  the  summer 
season  from  the  parent  oak. 

In  autumn  the  acorn  is  fully  formed  or  ripe. 

The  autumn  winds  begin  to  blow. 

Again  an  acorn  falls  from  an  oak  tree. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  305 

SUGGESTIONS  ON  THE  WORK. 

It  is  to  be  assumed  that  before  entering  upon  the  work  of 
guiding  the  pupils  in  constructing  a  series,  the  teacher  has 
clearly  in  mind,  the  nature  of  the  entire  activity,  and  also 
the  form  of  the  various  sentences  in  which  this  activity  is  to 
be  expressed,  substantially.  The  pupil  is  not  assumed  to 
know  either.  The  work  begins  with  the  consideration  of 
the  action.  In  no  case  are  the  sentences  to  be  given  to  the 
child.  The  pupils  are  actually  to  construct  each  series  and 
the  work  is  to  be  largely  oral. 

The  teacher  should  begin  by  indicating  the  purpose  of  the 
activity  to  be  expressed. 

The  thought  underlying  the  first  sentence  of  the  series, 
is  then  to  be  worked  out  carefully.  For  example,  in  the 
series  concerning  the  teakettle  the  child's  attention  should 
be  turned  to  the  entire  action  expressed  by  the  sentence  and 
then  to  the  meaning  expressed  by  "near",  "window'*, 
"kitchen",  etc.  The  sentence  which  is  finally  constructed 
to  express  the  entire  action  is  to  be  settled  upon  only  after 
careful  comparison  and  discrimination  concerning  words. 
For  example,  the  teacher  should  lead  the  children  to  think 
whether  it  would  be  more  appropriate  to  employ  ' '  stands ' ', 
or  "am  standing";  whether  to  employ  "at,"  "by"  or 
"near",  etc. 

In  all  this,  as  above  indicated,  the  sentence  is  not  to  be 
put  before  the  children  in  its  visible  form.  It  is  to  be  dealt 
with  only  orally.  The  exact  form  of  the  sentence  having 
been  decided  upon,  it  is  then  to  be  made  the  property  of 
each  member  of  the  class  orally.  In  the  exercises  on  this 
point  the  work  of  the  teacher  must  be  controlled  closely  by 
the  language  act ;  that  is,  he  is  at  all  times  to  lead  the  pupil : 

1.  To  obtain  the  meaning  (the  object  in  language). 

2.  To   think   the   expression,    (the   expression   in   lan- 
guage). 


306  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

3.  To  think  their  correspondence,  (the  harmony,  the 
correspondence  in  language). 

This  work  in  mastering  the  sentence  orally,  involves 
everything  under  the"  pronunciation,  enunciation,  modula- 
tion, emphasis,  etc. 

One  by  one,  each  sentence  of  the  series  is  to  receive  sub- 
stantially the  same  treatment.  The  series  of  sentences  is  to 
be  so  thoroughly  learned  orally,  that  the  child  can  begin 
with  the  first  partial  action  of  the  larger  concrete  activity, 
and  both  think  the  various  subordinate  acts  in  their  true 
succession,  and  express  these  successive  acts  by  the  corre- 
sponding oral  sentences. 

The  various  natural  divisions  in  the  activity  are  to  be 
noted  by  the  pupil,  and  to  be  indicated  in  his  oral  expres- 
sion. 

The  foregoing  deal  with  the  actions  and  the  correspond- 
ing sentences  as  a  whole.  This  having  been  done,  each 
pupil  is  to  be  made  able  to  select  the  essential  element  of  the 
entire  action  expressed  in  a  sentence;  to  employ  the  word 
or  words  expressing  it,  and  thus  to  move  througn  the  entire 
activity,  employing  only  the  words  asserting  the  action.  In 
the  series  concerning  the  teakettle,  the  pupil  should  give, 
"am  standing",  "am  looking",  "know",  "think",  "go", 
•"take  hold  of",  "remove",  etc. 

This  kind  of  work  is  undertaken  in  order  to  give  the  pupil 
the  habit  of  selecting  the  central  action  in  the  entire  activ- 
ity, and  of  recognizing  especially  the  vital  element  in  the 
sentence — the  verb. 

In  conducting  the  work  upon  this  and  other  features,  it 
is  often  helpful  to  have  the  pupils  assist  in  directing  the 
work.  That  is,  the  pupils  may  at  various  times  act  as 
teacher,  asking  questions,  giving  directions,  expressing  the 
commendations  or  cautions  concerning  the  nature  of  the 
work,  etc. 


THK  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  307 

The  foundation  series  of  sentences  constructed  by  the 
pupils  should  be,  as  a  rule,  in  the  form  of  the  present  tense, 
third  person,  singular,  indicative  mode.  This  is  the  natural 
expression  for  the  child.  In  the  series  above  referred  to, 
the  form  worked  out  by  the  children  should  be : 

She  is  standing  near  the  kitchen  window. 

She  is  looking  out  of  the  window,  etc. 

The  pupils  should  be  led  to  see  in  any  given  series  the  re- 
lation of  means  to  end.  This  should  be  emphasized.  The 
action  expressed  by  the  first  sentence  is  a  means  to  that  ex- 
pressed by  the  second.  The  action  expressed  by  the  second 
sentence  is  a  means  to  that  expressed  by  the  third,  etc. 
While  this  may  not  be  true  in  every  possible  case,  it  is  the 
general  rule  and  the  controlling  thought  in  determining  the 
order  of  the  actions  to  be  expressed. 

Not  only  is  the  action  expressed  in  a  given  sentence  a 
means  to  that  expressed  in  the  following  sentence,  but  also 
the  action  in  any  sentence  is  the  end  or  result  of  a  series  of 
subordinate  actions.  For  example,  the  act  of  standing  near 
the  kitchen  window  is  the  result  of  a  series  of  preceding 
actions  all  intended  to  bring  about  that  end.  In  order  to 
render  the  child  still  more  accurate  and  discriminating  in 
the  choice  of  words,  he  should  at  least  once  during  the  study 
of  each  series  be  led  to  discover  and  appropriately  to  ex- 
press the  various  actions  leading  up  to  this  one  action  ex- 
pressed by  the  sentence. 

In  concluding  these  general  suggestions  concerning  the 
work  of  any  series,  three  thoughts  are  worthy  of  iteration : 

1.  In  considering  any  action  to  be  expressed  by  a  series 
of  sentences,  the  teacher  is  to  view  the  act  as  returning  to 
itself.  It  is  probable  that  any  act  in  nature  or  in  human 
life,  viewed  in  its  entirety,  would  be  seen  to  be,  employing 
Hegel's  significant  term,  a  " return  to  itself."  Work  of 
this  kind  will  accustom  the  child  to  this  view  of  nature. 


308  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

2.  Under  all  stages  of  work,  the  teacher  is  to  be  careful 
to  present  such  actions,  directions,  and  illustrations  as  are 
adapted  to  lead  the  pupil  to  think : 

a.  The  object  or  meaning  very  clearly  and  dis- 
tinctly. 

b.  The  expression. 

c.  The  correspondence  of  object  and  expression. 
This  threefold  movement  of  thought  is  the  language  act. 

It  is  the  method  in  language.    As  such  it  is  to  be  constantly 
before  the  teacher  in  all  language  work. 

As  before  indicated,  the  language  act  in  full,  is,  thinking 
the  object,  creating  the  purpose,  thinking  the  expression, 
and  thinking  the  correspondence  between  expression  on  the 
one  hand,  and  purpose  and  object  on  the  other.,  Since, 
however,  the  special  purpose  renders  the  object  special,  the 
purpose  is  always  involved  in  the  object  expressed  by  lan- 
guage. For  this  reason,  the  language  act  is  here  spoken  of 
as  threefold.  That  is,  it  is  the  act  of  thinking  the  object, 
thinking  the  expression,  and  thinking  their  correspondence. 

3.  It  is  very  important  that  the  sentences  of  any  given 
series  should  be  very  clearly  understood  as  to  their  mean- 
ing, and  made  completely  the  pupil's  own  orally,  before 
moving  out  into  the  field  of  the  derived  work. 

It  is  evident  that  the  series  of  sentences  expressing  any 
action,  constitutes  the  bare  frame-work  for  an  organized 
composition.  It  is  also  clear  that  this  composition  when 
fully  organized  is  of  the  nature  of  narration.  It  Is  further 
evident  that  the  individual  objects  to  be  expressed  in  de- 
scription, the  general  objects  to  be  expressed  in  exposition, 
and  the  relations  giving  rise  to  argumentation,  are  found  in 
the  material  of  each  action.  In  considering  the  work  under 
composition : 

1.  Attention  will  first  be  turned  to  several  kinds  of  pre- 
liminary work. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  309 

2.  Succeeding  this,  the  work  of  changing  the  series  of 
sentences  as  a  bare  structure,  into  a  piece  of  organized  dis- 
course, will  be  noted. 

3.  In  the  third  place  brief  reference  will  be  given  to  the 
more  systematic  work  under  description. 

Among  the  kinds  of  preliminary  work  are  the  following : 

a.  Under  the  guidance  and  suggestion  of  the  teacher 
the  pupils  may  be  led  to  select  the  expressions  in  the  series 
of  sentences  known  as  subjective  language.    In  the  series  of 
sentences  concerning  the  teakettle  there  are  found  such  ex- 
pressions as  "I  know,"  "I  think,"  "I  find."     This  kind 
of  work  should  be  slight  at  first,  gradually  increasing  in  ex- 
actness and  importance  as  the  children  become  more  ad- 
vanced in  the  work. 

b.  Beginning  as   early,   perhaps,   as  in  the  third 
grade,  the  children  should  be  led  to  consider  tfie  figurative 
language  based  upon  the  series  of  sentences  studied  in  the 
second  grade,  and  also  that  based  upon  those  studied  in  the 
third  grade.     This  figurative  language  is  based  upon  the 
separate  words  in  the  sentences,  and  also  upon  the  central 
thought  pervading  the  entire  action.     Some  of  the  figura- 
tive expressions  to  be  noted  as  arising  from  the  series  of 
sentences  expressing  the  action  of  filling  the  teakettle,  are 
the  following: 

(1)  Based  on  separate  words  in  the  series  concern- 
ing the  teakettle, 

(a.)  In  the  sixth  sentence.  On  take.  ''Take 
fast  hold  of  instruction."  Prov.  IV-13.  On  lid.  "The 
kettle  lid,  on  or  off,  and  the  pumper,  give  a  very  good  pic- 
ture of  modern  theory  and  practice."  Thring's  Theory 
and  Practice  of  Teaching. 

(b.)  In  the  eighth  sentence.  On  continue.  "If 
ye  continue  in  my  word  then  are  ye  my  disciples  indeed. " 


310  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

On  hand.  "He  was  always  reckoned  a  lively  hand  at  a 
simile,"  etc. 

(c.)  In  the  seventeenth  sentence.  On  walk.  "Oh! 
for  a  closer  walk  with  God, ' '  etc. 

(d.)  In  the  eighteenth  sentence.  On  empty.  "I 
shall  find  you  empty  of  that  fault. "  "  Pleased  In  the  silent 
shade  with  empty  praise. ' '  On  water.  i  '  Remembering  he 
had  passed  over  a  small  water,  a  poor  scholar  when  first 
coming  to  the  university,  he  kneeled." 

(2)  Based  on  the  pervading  thought,  in  the 
series  concerning  the  teakettle. 

The  main  thought  in  this  series  may  be  duty.  This  men- 
tal attribute  may  be  imaged  as  a  person.  It  is  so  imaged  in 
the  following : 

"So  nigh  is  grandeur  to  our  dust, 

So  near  is  God  to  man  ; 
When  duty  whispers  '  I/>,  thou  must ! ' 

The  youth  replies  '  I  can.'  " 

Carefulness  may  be  viewed  as  that  with  which  one  is 
mainly  impressed  in  studying  all  the  various  phases  of  the 
action.  An  analogy  may  be  discovered  between  this  trait 
and  a  rampart. 

Carefulness,  in  the  image  of  the  rampart,  may  then  be 
spoken  of  in  a  series  of  sentences. 

c.  Work  with  isolated  sentences.  This  work  does 
not  always  use  the  sentence  in  the  exact  form  in  which  it 
appears  in  the  series.  The  aim  of  the  work  is  to  make  the 
child  more  familiar  with  the  exact  significance  of  words  and 
with  the  properties  they  possess,  due  to  the  expression  of 
their  meaning.  The  different  steps  in  this  work  are  here- 
with noted: 

(1.)  The  sentence  is  changed  into  the  form  that 
will  best  lead  the  child  to  determine  the  significance  of  the 
words  from  their  connection  in  the  sentence  only.  For  ex- 
ample, if  the  first  sentence  in  the  series  embodying  the 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  311 

action  of  filling  the  teakettle  is  used,  instead  of  using  It  as 
it  is,  the  teacher  may  place  it  upon  the  board  modified  as  to 
the  subject,  thus:  "It  is  standing  near  the  kitchen  win- 
dow." 

(2.)  The  child  is  then  required  to  image  an  ap- 
propriate environment  for  the  actor  and  the  action.  This 
is  to  be  set  forth  in  the  form  of  a  story,  and  written  upon 
slate  or  paper.  One  part  of  the  story  is  to  be  the  sentence 
that  was  placed  upon  the  board.  These  stories  are  then  to 
be  read,  and,  through  the  suggestion  of  the  teacher  and 
other  pupils,  to  be  modified,  condensed,  given  greater  unity, 
etc.  One  of  the  pupils  might  present  some  such  story  as  the 
following : 

"Yesterday  my  mother  was  shopping.  In  passing  one 
of  the  dry  goods  stores  she  saw  a  beautiful  doll  in  the 
window.  She  bought  it  for  me.  I  was  very  much  de- 
lighted with  it.  I  have  been  playing  with  It  nearly  all 
morning.  I  am  now  through  playing  with  it  until  after 
dinner.  It  is  standing  near  the  kitchen  window.  This  is 
not  a  good  place  for  it.  I  must  take  it  into  the  sitting  room. ' ' 

Another  might  image  a  different  environment,  and  give 
expression  to  it  in  a  different  story,  thus : 

"This  morning  I  found  a  young  bird  under  the  apple 
tree.  It  was  too  young  to  fly.  It  must  have  fallen  out  of 
the  nest.  The  rain  had  been  falling  for  more  than  an  hour, 
and  the  little  bird  was  very  wet.  I  brought  it  into  the 
kitchen  and  placed  it  under  the  stove.  The  air  was  warm 
there  and  it  soon  became  dry.  After  a  while  it  began  to 
walk  a  very  little.  I  then  took  it  in  my  hand  and  put  it  on 
the  shelf.  It  is  standing  near  the  kitchen  window." 

No  doubt  the  stories  as  first  presented  upon  the  slates 
would  be  much  more  crude  in  form  than  these,  and  much 
more  fragmentary.  They  would  likewise  have  much  less 
unity. 


312  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

(3.)  On  the  basis  of  the  various  stories  the  pupil 
should  be  led  to  see  the  significance  of  the  different  words. 
For  example,  it  would  be  shown  him  that  the  word,  "it," 
might  mean  a  doll,  a  bird,  etc. 

(4)  The  children  should  then  be  led  to  notice  what 
may  be  called  the  properties  of  the  word,  that  is,  they  should 
be  shown  that  the  word,  "  it, "  means  but  one  object ;  that  it 
means  the  object  spoken  of;  that  it  means  the  object  per- 
forming the  action,  etc.  Similar  work  should  be  taken  with 
the  word,  * '  window, ' '  and  with  the  other  words  of  the  sen- 
tence.* 

d.  A  fourth  kind  of  preliminary  work  is  that  in' 
which  the  children  substitute  for  any  given  expression  other 
expressions  having  substantially,  though  not  exactly,  the 
same  meaning,  and  then  decide  upon  the  relative  appro- 
priateness of  the  different  expressions.     This  work  in  sub- 
stitution should  begin  with  the  verb,  then  pass  to  the  sub- 
ject, and  finally  to  the  predicate.     Thus  in  the  first  sen- 
tence the  children  might  substitute  for  "am  standing"  the 
word,  "stand";  for  "I,"  the  expression,  "the  one  who  is 
speaking";  for  "near,"  "by"  or  "at,"  etc. 

In  each  case  the  relative  fitness  of  the  different  expres- 
sions is  to  be  carefully  considered.  The  work  is  important, 
because  in  an  elementary  way  it  both  makes  a  transition  to 
rhetoric  and  lays  the  basis  for  an  intelligent  discussion  of 
the  different  elements  and  words  in  the  sentence,  when  in 
later  years  scientific  grammar  is  entered  upon.  One  great 
difficulty  that  the  pupil  encounters  in  determining  the  force 
of  the  various  expressions  in  a  sentence,  is  his  inability  to 
image  corresponding  expressions  for  the  expression  under 
consideration. 

e.  The  four  kinds  of  work  indicated  grow  imme- 
diately out  of  the  series  of  sentences.     The  fifth  kind,  now 


*See  work  on  Isolated  Sentence  in  "  Inland  Educator,"  Vol,  III,  Jan.,  1897,  p.  298. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  313 

to  be  considered,  changes  from  the  series  of  sentences  con- 
structed by  the  pupils,  to  some  finished  selection  of  dis- 
course. This  finished  selection  is  examined  m  order  to 
find,  in  the  first  place,  what  may  be  termed  the  embodied 
series  of  actions,  and  the  expression  for  it;  and  in  the  sec- 
ond place,  to  discover  the  connective,  iterative  and  ex- 
planatory sentences,  the  rhetorical  features  of  the  various 
sentences,  and  whatever  else  is  involved  in  transmuting  a 
bare  succession  of  sentences,  exhibiting  a  few  successive 
actions,  into  an  organized,  finished  selection  in  discourse. 
The  following. furnish  material  suitable  to  the  explanation 
of  the  work  in  question : 

HOW  A  PRESIDENT  IS  MADE. 

Despite  our  boasted  education  as  a  people,  and  in  curious 
contrast  to  the  tremendous  interest  we  take  in  elections,  it 
is  doubtful  if  one  voter  out  of  ten  can  accurately  describe 
the  process  by  which  a  President  and  Vice-President  are 
made. 

Commencing  with  the  choice  of  electors  on  the  first  Tues- 
day after  the  first  Monday  in  November  ol  presidential 
years,  the  next  step  is  the  meeting  of  these  electors  at  their 
several  State  capitals  on  the  second  Monday  in  January  fol- 
lowing the  election.  An  act  of  Congress  requires  the  elec- 
tors of  all  the  states  to  meet  on  the  same  day.  At  this  meet- 
ing each  elector  casts  his  ballot  for  President  and  Vice  Presi- 
dent. He  is  at  perfect  liberty  to  vote  for  whomsoever  he 
chooses,  but  in  testimony  to  the  high  sense  of  honor  which 
pervades  the  American  people  it  may  be  said  that  since  the 
formation  of  the  government  no  elector  has  failed  to  vote 
for  the  candidate  for  whom  he  was  elected.  After  the  votes 
have  been  cast  they  are  sealed  up  and  entrusted  to  one  of 
the  electors,  who  is  designated  by  his  fellows  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  by  him  are  conveyed  to  Washington  and  delivered 


314  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

over.  These  sealed  ballots  are  directed  to  the  President  of 
the  Senate,  who  opens  them  in  the  presence  of  the  House 
a,nd  Senate,  on  the  second  Wednesday  'of  the  following  Feb- 
ruary, this  joint  session  being  required  by  law.  //  it  is 
found  that  any  candidate  for  President  has  received  a  ma- 
jority of  the  entire  electoral  vote  he  is  formally  declared 
elected,  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  Vice  President;  but 
if  no  one  has  received  a  majority  for  either  of  these  offices 
the  joint  session  dissolves  and  the  House  proceeds  to  elect  a 
President  and  the  Senate  a  Vice  President. 

In  voting  for  President  the  House  is  restricted  to  the 
three  men  who  received  the  highest  votes  in  the  Electoral 
College.  In  the  House  each  State  is  entitled  to  one  vote. 
How  this  vote  shall  be  cast  is  determined  by  a  majority  of 
the  Congressmen  from  each  State.  It  makes  no  difference 
how  the  State  may  have  voted  upon  electors,  a  majority  of 
the  Congressmen  may  determine  how  it  shall  vote  when  the 
presidential  election  is  thrown  into  the  House.  To  elect,  a 
majority  of  the  entire  number  of  States  is  required.  The 
same  process  is  had  in  the  Senate,  with  the  exception  that 
each  Senator  has  a  vote  and  only  the  two  highest  voted  for 
in  the  Electoral  College  may  be  selected  from.  In  case  the 
House  should  get  into  a  deadlock  which  should  last  beyond 
the  4th  of  the  following  March,  the  Vice  President  chosen 
by  the  Senate  would  assume  the  presidential  chair  on  that 
date,  thus  doing  away  with  the  rule  so  prevalent  In  political 
affairs  that  an  officer  holds  until  his  successor  is  elected  and 
qualified.  The  old  President  must  step  out,  whatever  may 
be  the  fate  of  his  presumed  successor. 

The  Constitution  did  not  seem  to  provide  the  means  of 
presidential  succession  which  might  be  demanded  under  cer- 
tain emergencies,  and  so  the  Forty-ninth  Congress  passed  a 
bill  fixing  this  succession  as  follows,  in  case  of  the  death, 
resignation  or  disability  of  both  the  President  and  Vice 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  315 

President:  Secretary  of  State,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
Secretary  of  War,  Attorney-General,  Postmaster-General, 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  and  Secretary  of  the  Interior.  It  is 
provided,  however,  that  before  either  of  thesu  may  assume 
the  presidency  he  must  first  have  been  recognized  by  the 
Senate  as  a  Cabinet  officer  and  possess  in  himself  the  con- 
stitutional requirements  of  a  President. 

GOLD  LETTERING. 

The  sign  letterer  who  is  putting  a  gold  sign  on  a  window, 
paints  the  letters  upon  the  outside  first,  but  these  letters  are 
only  for  a  guide — the  gold  is  put  upon  the  inside  of  the 
glass.  The  gold  leaf  is  so  thin  and  light  that  the  faintest 
breath  would  be  enough  to  blow  it  away — it  is  carried  in  the 
familiar  little  books. 

The  letterer  brushes  the  inner  side  of  the  glass,  back  of 
the  lettering  painted  upon  the  outside,  with  a  brush  dipped 
in  water  containing  a  trace  of  mucilage.  Then  with  a  wide 
and  very  thin  camel's  hair  brush,  which  he  first  brushes 
lightly  back  and  forth  once  or  twice  upon  the  back  of  his 
head,  or  perhaps  upon  his  coat,  to  dry  it  if  it  needs  drying, 
and  slightly  to  electrify  it,  he  lifts  from  the  book  a  section  of 
gold  leaf  sufficient  to  cover  a  section  of  the  letter  and  places 
it  on  the  glass.  He  repeats  these  operations  until  the  glass 
back  of  the  letter  painted  on  the  front  is  covered  with  the 
leaf.  It  may  require  three  or  four  sections,  such  as  can  be 
picked  up  with  the  brush  to  cover  the  letter,  or  perhaps 
more,  depending  on  its  size  and  shape.  When  he  has  com- 
pleted the  application  of  the  leaf  to  one  letter  he  dampens 
the  back  of  the  next  and  proceeds  with  that  In  the  same 
manner,  and  so  on  until  the  letters  are  all  backed  with  the 
gold  leaf. 

Thus  applied  the  gold  leaf  overlaps  the  letters  more  or 
less  on  all  sides.  It  is  bright  in  color,  like  all  gold,  but  it 


316  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

is  not  shining;  it  is  burnished  by  rubbing  it  gently  on  the 
back — of  course,  it  cannot  be  rubbed  on  the  face,  for  that  is 
against  the  glass — with  a  soft  cloth.  It  burnishes,  however, 
on  the  face  as  well  as  on  the  back.  Then  the  letters  are 
backed.  The  exact  shape  of  the  letter  is  painted  over  the 
back  of  the  gold  leaf  to  fix  and  protect  it ;  and  when  the  back 
is  dry  the  gold  leaf  projecting  beyond  the  outline  of  the  let- 
ter is  brushed  off.  It  is  not  sought  to  save  this  projecting 
leaf;  there  is  not  enough  of  it  to  pay  for  the  labor  that 
would  be  involved  in  gathering  it  together.  Then  the  out- 
side lettering,  which  is  done  with  paint  that  is  but  little 
more  than  oil,  is  rubbed  off,  and  the  lustrous  gold  lettering 
is  revealed. 

THE   DARK  FOREST. 

In  the  midway  of  this  our  mortal  life 

I  found  me  in  a  gloomy  wood  astray, 

Gone  from  the  path  direct :  and  e'en  to  tell 

It  were  no  easy  task,  how  savage  wild 

That  forest,  how  robust  and  rough  its  growth, 

Which  to  remember  only,  my  dismay 

Renews,  in  bitterness  not  far  from  death. 

Yet  to  discourse  of  what  there  good  befell, 

All  else  will  I  relate  discover'd  there. 

How  first  I  enter'd  it  I  scarce  can  say, 

Such  sleepy  dullness  in  that  instant  weigh'd 

My  senses  down,  when  the  true  path  I  left; 

But  when  a  mountain's  foot  I  reached,  where  clos'd 

The  valley,  that  had  pierc'd  my  heart  with  dread, 

I  look'd  aloft,  and  saw  his  shoulders  broad 

Already  vested  with  that  planet's  beam, 

Who  leads  all  wanderers  safe  through  every  way. 

Dante's  Inferno,  Canto  I,  lines  1-16. 

ON  A  FELLOW-PASSENGER  ASLEEP  ON  A   TRAIN,   WITH   THE   POEMS 
OF  BION   AND   MOSCHUS   IN   HIS   HANDS. 

Wake,  wake  him  not ;  a  book  lies  in  his  hands. 
Bion  and  Moschus  live  within  his  dream. 
Tired  of  our  world  he  fares  in  other  lands, 
Wanders  with  these  beside  Ilyssus'  stream. 

Dull,  even  sweet,  the  rumble  of  the  train  ; 
'Tis  Circe  singing  near  her  golden  loom. 
No  garish  show  afflicts  his  charmed  brain  ; 
Demeter's  poppies  brighten  o'er  her  tomb. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  317 

Now,  half  awake,  he  looks  on  star-lit  trees- 
Sees  the  white  huntress  in  her  eager  chase. 
Wake,  wake  him  not— upon  the  fragrant  breeze 
I^et  horn  and  hound  announce  h,er  rapid  pace. 
Unbanished  gods  roam  o'er  the  thimy  hills  ; 
Calm  shadows  sleep  upon  the  purple  grapes. 
Hid  are  the  naiads  near  the  star-gemmed  rills  ; 
Far  through  the  moonlight  wander  lovelorn  shapes. 

Gray  olives  shade  the  dancing  dryad's  smile  ; 
Flutes  pour  their  raptures  through  that  visioned  stream  ; 
Echoes  like  these  O"r  modern  cares  beguile — 
Soft-whispering  music  from  the  old  Greek's  dream. 

Songs  of  Night  and  Day,  F.  W.  Gunsaulus, 
A.  C.  McClurg  &  Co. 

It  will  be  noted  that  two  of  the  selections  are  prose,  ex- 
pressing mere  facts;  and  that  the  two  others  are  poetry, 
setting  forth  idealization. 

In  order  to  offer  an  explanation  of  the  work,  tne  selection 
relating  to  the  election  of  President  and  Vice-Presldent  is 
taken.  The  other  selections  could  be  treated  in  a  similar 
manner. 

In  dealing  with  a  selection  in  organized  discourse,  the 
first  work  is  to  discover  the  embodied  series  of  actions.  This 
is  shown,  substantially,  in  the  article  concerning  the  elec- 
tion of  President,  by  means  of  italics. 

The  second  work  is  to  construct  the  series  of  sentences  ex- 
pressing the  elements  of  the  action.  In  the  given  case  these 
may  appear  somewhat  as  follows : 

1.  On  the  first  Tuesday  after  the  first  Monday  in  No- 
vember, in  Presidential  years,  the  qualified  voters  of  each 
state  choose  the  electors  for  that  state. 

2.  The  electors  meet  at  their  several  state  capitals  on  the 
second  Monday  in  January  after  the  election. 

3.  At  this  meeting  each  elector  casts  his  ballot  for  Presi- 
dent and  Vice-President. 

4.  The  electors  then  seal  up  the  ballots. 

5.  They  direct  them  to  the  President  of  the  Senate,. 
Washington,  D.  C. 


318  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

6.  They  elect  a  messenger,  usually  one  of  their  own 
members. 

7.  The  messenger  carries  the  sealed  ballots  to  Washing- 
ton. 

8.  He  delivers  them  to  the  President  of  the  Senate. 

9.  On  the  second  Wednesday  of  the  first  February  after 
the  election,  the  Senate  and  the  House  of  Representatives 
convene  in  joint  session. 

10.  The  President  of  the  Senate  opens  the  ballots  in  the 
presence  of  both  Houses. 

11.  It  may  be  found  that  one  candidate  for  the  Presi- 
dency has  received  a  majority  of  the  entire  electoral  vote. 

12.  In  that  case  he  is  formally  declared  elected  to  the 
Presidency. 

13.  It  may  also  appear  that  one  candidate  for  the  Vice- 
Presidency  has  received  a  majority  of  the  ballots. 

14.  He  is  then  formally  declared  to  be  elected  to  the 
Vice-Presidency. 

15.  It  may,  however,  be  found  that  no  one  has  received 
a  majority  of  the  electoral  votes  for  the  Presidency. 

16.  It  may  likewise  appear  that  no  one  has  received  a 
majority  of  the  votes  for  the  Vice-Presidency. 

17.  The  joint  session  in  such  case  dissolves. 

18.  The  Senate  proceeds  to  elect  a  Vice-President. 

19.  The  House  enters  upon  the  election  of  a  President. 

20.  It  may  be  that  the  House  fails  to  elect  the  President 
before  the  4th  of  the  following  March. 

21.  The  Vice-President  chosen  by  the  Senate,  thereupon 
assumes  the  Presidential  chair. 

22.  It  is  possible  that  both  the  Presidency  and  the  Vice- 
Presidency  may  become  vacant  by  means  of  death,  resigna- 
tion or  disability. 

23.  The  forty-ninth   Congress  fixed  the  succession  in 
such  case. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  319 

24.  The  act  of  the  forty-ninth  Congress  established  the 
following  succession :  Secretary  of  State ;  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury;    Secretary    of    War;    Attorney    General;    Post 
Master  General;  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  Secretary  of 
the  Interior. 

25.  The  act  provides  that  the  one  who  becomes  Presi- 
dent in  compliance  with  this  law  must  have  been  recognized 
by  the  Senate  as  a  Cabinet  Officer. 

26.  It  further  ordains  that  he  must  possess  the  constitu- 
tional requirements  for  the  Presidency. 

The  third  kind  of  work  is  selecting  the  words  that  express 
the  central  action  in  each  sentence. 

The  fourth  kind  of  work  is  the  reconstruction  of  the  sen- 
tences on  the  basis  of  the  verbs,  as,  for  example,  on  the  verb 
of  the  first  sentence,  choose. 

(Who,)  voters  choose. 

(More  definite,)  qualified  voters  choose. 

( Still  more  definite, )  the  qualified  voters  choose. 

(Fully  definite,)  the  qualified  voters  in  each  state  choose. 

(What,)  choose  electors. 

(More  definite,)  choose  the  electors. 

(Fully  definite,)  choose  the  electors  for  that  state. 

(When — year,)  choose  the  electors  for  that  state  in  Pres- 
dential  years.  , 

(When — month,)  choose  the  electors  for  that  state  in 
Presidential  years  in  November. 

(When — day,)  choose  the  electors  for  that  state  in  Presi- 
dential years  in  November,  on  the  first  Tuesday  after  the 
first  Monday. 

The  fifth  kind  of  work  is  the  further  organization  of  the 
sentence,  produced  by  deciding  upon  the  order  of  the  various 
expressions.  This  may  place  the  last  expression  given 
above,  showing  the  day  on  which  the  election  is  to  occur,  so 
as  to  bring  it  first  in  the  organized  sentence.  A  high  de- 


320  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.- 

gree  of  skill  in  language  and  power  to  construct  it,  may  arise 
from  a  consideration  of  the  various  advantages  accruing 
from  the  different  positions  of  the  various  expressions. 

The  sixth  kind  of  work  is  an  examination  of  the  lan- 
guage accompanying  the  expressions  revealing  the  series  of 
actions.  For  example,  study  will  reveal  that  the  first  sen- 
tence is  a  transitional  sentence,  in  that  it  connects  ideas  of 
our  education  and  ideas  concerning  our  interest  in  elections 
(both  subjects  being  assumed  to  be  present  in  the  mind  of 
the  reader,)  with  our  ignorance  of  the  process  by  which 
a  President  and  Vice-President  are  made.  This  first  sen- 
tence is  also  explanatory,  its  purpose  being  to  reveal  why  the 
writer  presents  his  thoughts  concerning  the  process  of  elect- 
ing the  President  and  Vice-President.  In  the  second  sen- 
tence the  expressions,  "commencing  with"  and  "the  next 
step, ' '  are  transitional.  A  sentence  may  be  iterative,  in  that 
it  may  present  activities  a  second  time,  etc.  From  this  it 
will  be  observed  that  the  main  kinds  of  sentences  required 
in  order  to  change  the  mere  series  of  sentences  into 'or- 
ganized discourse  are  three : 

Transitional  sentences. 

Iterative  sentences. 

Explanatory  sentences. 

In  connection  with  each  separate  sentence,  and  also  with 
the  sentences  expressing  the  series  of  actions,  certain  rhet- 
orical features  are  always  involved  in  organized  discourse. 
These  are  shown  in : 

Arrangement. 

Employment  of  subjective  sentences. 

Employment  of  figurative  expressions  including  both 
figures  of  speech  and  figures  of  thought. 

A  rhetorical  feature  produced  by  the  arrangement  is 
shown  in  beginning  the  first  sentence  with  "Despite  our 
boasted  education,  etc. ' ',  instead  of  beginning  it  with  '  *  One 


THE:  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  321 

voter  out  of  ten,  etc."  Among  the  subjective  expressions 
are,  "The  interest  we  take",  "It  is  doubtful."  Among 
the  figurative  expressions  are,  '  *  The  tremendous  interest  we 
take",  "The  next  step",  "High  sense  of  honor",  "Get  into 
a  dead-lock  ",  "  An  officer  holds  ",  "  Must  step  out ' '.  It  will 
be  noted  that  many  of  the  figurative  expressions  are  also 
subjective  expressions.  In  the  expression,  * '  The  House  pro- 
ceeds to  elect  a  President  and  the  Senate  a  Vice  President ' ', 
a  figure  of  speech  is  found.  One  is  also  found  in  the  enu- 
meration of  the  n  jmbers  of  the  Cabinet,  indicating  their 
order  of  succeeding  to  the  Presidency.  When  these  rhet- 
orical features  have  been  discovered,  it  is  important  that 
the  pupils  be  led  to  consider  their  effect. 

This  finishes  the  treatment  of  the  selection  of  organized 
discourse.  Equipped  with  the  new  power  arising  from  such 
work,  the  pupil  is  now  able  to  turn  to  any  one  of  the  bare 
series  he  has  previously  constructed,  and  transform  it  into 
organized  discourse.  In  doing  this  attention  should  be  given 
to  several  things : 

1.  The  order  of  the  different  expressions  in  any  given 
sentence  should  be  noted,  and  the  advantage  of  any  change 
brought  out.    For  example,  the  pupils  may  be  led  to  com- 
pare the  following  in  reference  to  the  first  sentence  in  the 
series   concerning  the   kettle:   "I   am   standing  near  the 
kitchen  window."    "Near  the  kitchen  window,  I  am  stand- 
ing. "    "  Standing  near  the  kitchen  window,  am  I. ' '    Under 
order  should  be  noted  in  the  second  case,  the  order  of  the 
successive  sentences. 

2.  The  work  succeeding  the  consideration  of  order  is  an 
examination  as  to  the  combinations  that  may  be  made. 
These  combinations  might  appear  as  f ollows :  "  I  am  stand- 
ing near  the  kitchen  window,  looking  out  of  it. "     "I  know 
the  teakettle  is  empty,  and  yet  I  think  of  it  as  filled."    "I 


322  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

then  go  to  the  stove  and  take  hold  of  the  knob  on  the  lid  of 
the  teakettle,  etc." 

3.  The  third  kind  of  work  is  what  may  be  called  the 
elaboration  of  the  series.  It  consists  in  the  appropriate  em- 
ployment of  transitional  sentences,  iterative  sentences,  sub- 
jective sentences,  explanatory  sentences,  and  the  use  of 
various  rhetorical  features,  such  as  transposition,  figures  of 
thought,  etc.  The  following,  prepared  by  students,  may 
furnish  sufficient  illustration  of  this  elaboration  of  the  bare 
series  of  sentences: 

a.  We  can  realize  how  much  is  to  be  done  before 
our  end  is  accomplished  when  we  want  to  build  a  house,  ob- 
tain a  copy-right,  or  receive  a  degree  at  college,  but  how 
little  do  we  realize  the  many,  many  little  acts  that  must  be 
performed  before  we  have  accomplished  one,  even  one  of 
the  least,  of  the  acts  in  the  sphere  of  the  family,  as  for  ex- 
ample, that  of  filling  the  teakettle.  I  will  here  call  atten- 
tion to  one  set  of  conditions  under  which  this  act  once  oc- 
curred. The  cook,  while  waiting  for  her  mistress,  stood 
near  the  kitchen  window  watching  the  little  birds  bathing 
in  the  puddles  of  water  which  remained  after  a  hard  morn- 
ing shower.  While  standing  there  she  was  reminded  of  the 
teakettle  she  had  left  on  the  stove  almost  empty.  She  im- 
mediately imaged  it  as  filled,  and  walked  to  the  stove  to 
remove  the  lid  from  the  steaming  kettle.  She  held  the  lid 
in  one  hand  while  she  walked  to  the  bucket  of  water  which 
was  on  the  table.  She  reached  for  the  dipper  which  hung 
in  the  usual  place  on  a  nail  just  above  the  bucket.  She 
took  hold  of  the  dipper  near  the  bowl,  so  that  she  would  be 
less  apt  to  spill  the  water,  and  filled  it  with  water.  Hav- 
ing filled  the  dipper,  she  returned  to  the  stove  to  empty  the 
water  into  the  kettle.  She  repeated  this  action  three 
times,  thinking  the  kettle  would  then  be  sufficiently  full. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  323 

And  so  it  was.  Then  she  replaced  the  lid  on  the  teakettle, 
and  hung  the  dipper  in  its  usual  place,  for  she  was  always 
particular  that  things  should  be  kept  in  their  proper  places. 
After  she  had  completed  this  she  returned  to  the  window 
and  continued  watching  the  little  birds  for  her  mistress 
had  not  returned  from  market. 

b.  It  is  a  cold  December  day  and  Mary  is  standing 
near  the  kitchen  window,   looking  out  upon  a  charming 
snow  scene.     She  thinks  that  the  little  snow-covered  fir  tree 
on  the  hill  lacks  only  candles  to  complete  it,  and  she  also 
thinks  of  her  papa  and  mamma,  who  have  gone  to  town  on 
a  mysterious  errand. 

Her  face  wears  a  bright  expression,  for  she  remembers 
her  mother's  parting  words,  "I  feel  that  I  can  trust  you, 
Mary,  to  keep  the  fire  bright  and  the  kettle  boiling." 

This  thought  reminds  her  that  the  teakettle  is  probably 
empty  and  must  be  filled  at  once.  So  she  goes  to  the  stove, 
and  taking  hold  of  the  knob,  lifts  the  lid  from  the  teaket- 
tle. Still  holding  it  in  her  left  hand,  she  passes  to  the 
water-bucket  and  removes  the  dipper  from  its  accustomed 
nail  near  by. 

Now,  Mary  is  such  a  small  girl  that  it  is  not  easy  for  her 
to  dip  water  without  spilling  it,  so  she  grasps  the  handle 
quite  near  the  bowl,  to  prevent  such  an  accident.  She  fills 
her  dipper,  and  returning  to  the  stove,  very  carefully  pours 
its  contents  into  the  teakettle.  It  takes  three  dipperfuls, 
so  that  her  chubby  arms  ache  by  the  time  she  has  finished. 

She  replaces  the  lid,  hangs  up  the  dipper,  and  returning 
to  the  window,  looks  again  at  the  fir  tree  which  is  soon  to 
bear  candles,  and  waits  patiently  for  the  return  of  her  papa 
and  mamma. 

c.  On  a  bright  and  sunny  day  I  stand  near  the 
kitchen  window,  watching  some  birds  as  they  pick  up  the 


324  THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

crumbs.  As  I  do  this,  the  clock  gives  warning  of  the  ap- 
proaching dinner  hour.  I  know  that  the  teakettle  is  empty 
and  at  once  think  of  it  as  being  full.  I  walk  to  the  stove 
and  remove  the  teakettle  lid.  As  I  hold  it  in  my  hand  I 
walk  to  the  water-bucket,  and  finding  the  dipper  hanging 
on  a  nail  above  the  bucket,  I  take  hold  of  the  handle  of  the 
dipper  close  to  the  bowl  in  order  to  carry  the  water  more 
easily.  I  take  one  dipperful  and  empty  it  into  the  teaket- 
tle. I  pour  in  two  more  dipper fuls  and  then  the  teakettle 
is  full.  Placing  the  lid  on  the  teakettle  so  that  the  water 
will  boil  sooner,  I  hang  the  dipper  in  place  again.  I  resume 
my  position  at  the  window  and  again  look  out. 

d.  It  was  a  clear,  cold  day  in  November,  and  the 
bright  fire  in  Farmer  Jones'  comfortable  kitchen  sent  out  a 
cheerful  glow.  Mrs.  Jones  hurried  to  and  fro,  for  a  great 
many  things  had  to  be  done  on  this  particular  morning. 
To-morrow  would  be  Thanksgiving  and  a  number  of  guests 
were  expected.  The  farmer  had  gone  into  the  village  quite 
early  to  purchase  groceries,  and  now  Mrs.  Jones  was  ex- 
pecting to  hear  the  sound  of  old  Doll's  feet  on  the  hard 
frozen  road  at  any  minute,  for  she  must  have  those  things 
to  finish  her  baking.  She  left  the  table,  where  she  was  at 
work,  and  was  standing  near  the  window  looking  out.  Just 
then  she  heard  a  queer,  sizzing  noise,  and  remembered  that 
the  teakettle  was  empty.  It  must  be  filled,  for  she  would 
need  hot  water  to  scald  the  turkey.  So  she  hurried  to  the 
stove,  took  hold  of  the  lid  of  the  teakettle  and  removed  it. 
Holding  it  in  her  hand,  she  walked  to  the  water  bucket 
which  stood  on  the  table.  Mrs.  Jones  was  a  very  neat 
housekeeper  and  always  kept  things  in  their  proper  places. 
Just  back  of  the  bucket  hung  the  dipper  on  a  nail.  She 
took  it  down,  and  filling  it  with  water,  poured  the  contents 
into  the  teakettle,  all  the  while  grasping  the  handle  near  the 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD.  325 

bowl,  for  she  was  so  much  afraid  of  spilling  the  water  on 
her  new  carpet.  This  she  did  three  times.  She  then  put  the 
lid  on  the  kettle  and  hung  the  dipper  in  its  place.  Surely 
by  this  time  Doll  must  be  in  sight,  so  she  returned  to  the 
window  and  again  looked  out.  Just  then  the  horse's  feet 
came  clattering  up  the  pike. 


326 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 


APPENDIX  II. 


OBSERVATION  OF  THE  PSYCHICAL  PROCESS  IN 
A  LESSON. 

FORM  THAT  MAY  BE  USED  IN  RECORDING  RESULTS. 
I.  State  the  object  (i.  e.,  that  which  receives  the  focus  of  attention, 
that  which  is  being  known,)  in  the  following  activities  in  so  far 
as  the  process  of  learning  the  lesson  involved  them.  The  object 
of  memory  is  that  which  the  pupil  remembers;  the  object 
of  imagination  is  the  modified  object  of  which  the  pupil  be- 
comes aware  in  an  act  of  imagining,  etc. 

Perceiving  the  object  as  a  whole 

1.     Sense-percep- 
tion  .   .    .  J  Analytic  perceiving 

Apperceiving 
Spontaneous. 
Memory  .    .    .Voluntary... 

Systematic 

Mechanical. 

With  present  object 

With  absent  object... 

Seperative. 
Imagination  .1          With  language. 

With  picture,  or  externality  of  a  work  of  art 

Productive 

Creative  ^ ""."       

Interpretative 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

Productive  ... 


327 


4.     Language 
act  . 


Interpretative. 


5.     Understand- 
ing .   . 


Apprehension.. 


Distinction. 
Abstraction 


Discrimination 


Comparison. 


Classification. 
As  a  whole 


With  respect  to  cause... 


With  respect  to  effects. 


As  to  central  meaning... 


r  As  to  meaning  of  single  object .... 


6.     Conception  .  < 


As  to  common  attributes 


As  to  creative  activity  _.. 


I 


328 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  METHOD. 

Immediate 


Conditional. 

7.  Judgment 

Definitive  (i.  e.,  in  form  of  definition)  ... 

Identification.. 

8.  Reasoning         Induction „-    

Deduction 

II.     What  was  the  characteristic  process  of  the  lesson? 

1.     Give  the  stages  in  this  process  a§  involved  in  this  lesson. 

Student..:. Grade 

Date Subject 

Teacher... 


INDEX. 


Page. 


Abstraction  127,  209 

Action,   Embodied   Series   of   313, 
317. 

Activity,  concrete  27 

Moral 156 

Admiration    274 

Alienation    .' . .  .    34 

Allegory '45 

Analysis 10 

Of  Process  of  Knowing 177 

Into  Cause  and  Effect 233 

Of   Literary   Selection 31 

Antipathy  . . , 268 

Antithesis    146 

Aphaeresis 144 

Apocope 144 

Apostrophe 144 

Apperceiving    179 

Apperception    160 

Apprehension 166,  201 

Art  Product   235 

Aspects   153 

Assignment    237,   239 

Association    146 

Asyndeton   144 

Attention 249 

Attribute    9,  167 

Behavior 155,  157,  285,  286 

Bible  Study,  Method  In 63 

Characteristic — 

Central    (in  a  lesson) 253 

Structural    (of  object) 261 


Page. 

Choice  283 

Cheerfulness 272 

Classification  166,  201 

Climax  146 

Coherence 141 

Comparison  .  .  . : 127,  201 

The  Figure  of 145 

Composition 121 

Concept 206 

Conception 206 

Concrete  Activity  27 

View  in  History 35 

Conditional  Judgment 216 

Conscience  283 

Content  144,  262 

Figures  of  145,  146 

Contrast  146 

Courage  280 

Covetousness  269 

Creative  Imagination 191,  194 

Deduction 175,  228 

Definitive  Judgment   216 

Desire  282 

Devices 12,  150,  190,  193,  244 

Special  150 

Differentiated  Unity 10 

Discouragement    271 

Discourse  148 

Discrimination 127,  201,  283 

Distinguishing  Mark 9 

Distinction,    135,    138,    143,    146, 

147,  166,  201. 
Divisions,    relative    importance 

of .19 


1 . 


INDEX. 


Page. 
Education,  Central  Principle 

of  248 

Egoistic  Feelings  269 

Element,  initial  183 

Ellipsis  144 

Environment  137 

Analogous  236 

Envy  269 

Epanalepsis  144 

Epigram  146 

Epizeuxis  145 

Extent  262 

Faith 270 

Figurative    Language,     135,     144, 

309. 
Form 144 

Figures  of  144,  145 

Freedom   243,  279 

Fundamental  Movement  of  Mind, 

10. 

Divisions  in  Composition ....  121 

Generalization   100,  233 

Generic 213,  214,  215 

Genetic    121 

Hope    270 

Humility     268 

Hypothesis   100 

Idea,  dominant 153 

Structural     234 

Ideal 285 

Idealization     258 

Identification    172,   224,266 

Identifying    166 

Image   158,  159 

Function  of   .  ..232 


Page. 

Imagination  161,  164 

Immediate  Judgment . .  . . 216 

Immediacy   26 

Independence    288 

Induction    100,  173,  224 

Interest 13,  278 

Interpretation     164 

Interrogation    146 

Irony    146 

Isolation 29 

Jealousy 269 

Judging   170 

Judgment 215 

Knowing,  Analysis  of  Process.  177 
Knowledge,   Total    286 

Language,   Subjective. . .  .135,  309 
Figurative   .......  135,  144,  309 

Series  of  Sentences 291,  304 

Language  Activity  128,   164,   195, 
196,  197,  258,  305,  308. 

Laws,  of  Discourse 148 

Limit,  Consciousness  or.  .  .158,  288 

Limitation    154 

Love   275 

Malice 269 

Material,  Subject  Matter 9 

Means   12,  24 

Mechanical  Imagination.  189,.  .190 

Mediated  Kelation 224 

Memorization 127,  195 

Memory   161,  182,  189 

Mental    Effects    22 

Metaphor    145 

Method  5,  6,  7,  10,  11,  14,  16,  26, 
35,  36,  37,  38,  39,  112,  113. 


INDKX. 


m. 


Page. 

First  view  of 36,  37,  107 

Second  view  of 36,  37,  108 

Third  view  of 37,  108 

Province   of    16 

Objective  17 

Special  26 

Subjective    20 

Scientific    117 

Psychologic    118 

In  Language   215,308 

In  a  Lesson   153 

In  a  Subject 120 

Metonomy    146 

Mind,   Fundamental   Movement 

of    10 

Mnemonic  Device   161,  187 

Moral   Activity    156 

Nature  of  Method    8 

Of  Consciousness 36 

Of   Language   Process 128 

Of  Knowing   (General) 158 

Object    35,  108,  158 

Objectification    165 

Onomatopoetic  words   141 

Organizing    Principle,    9,    38,    121 

153. 
Organized  Unity    27 

Particular,  The 215,  236 

Perception    159,  177 

Personification    145 

Pleonasm  144 

Plot   141 

Polysyndeton   145 

Potential  Condition 154 

Pride  268 

Premise,  major,  minor 173 


Page. 

Presentation   159,  177 

Presentiment   30,  32 

Principles— 

Pedagogical,  180,  189,  194,  199, 
206,  214,  222,  227,  231,  248. 
Organizing, 9,  38,   121,  153 

Process 154 

Objectifying   155,  253 

Subjectifying    157 

Orderly   252 

Purpose    188 

Of  an  Assignment 240 

Of  Life 188,242,  279 

Of  a  Lesson  188 

Special   243 

General   243 

Psychical  Process  in  a  Lesson 
—Form  of  Record 326,  328 

Eatiocination -. 168,  206 

Rational  Institutions 288 

Eeasoning 128,  168,  170,  223 

Recollection    185 

Representation    l&l 

Reproductive  Imagination 190 

Righteousness   280 

Rules  of  School  287 

Series    of   Sentences,    Elabora- 
tion of 321,  325 

Scholarship    16 

Province  of 25 

Science 25 

Scope   10,  16,  20 

In  Composition 121 

Self -estrangement 190 

Self-determination,   154,   241,  245,. 

248. 

Self -direction  .  ...28& 


IV. 


INDEX. 


Page. 

Sensation 160 

Sense-perception  177 

Sensing   178 

Separative  Imagination,   190,   191 

Simile    145 

Specialist,  Qualifications  of  13,  14 

Special  Method  26 

Spontaneity 131 

Spontaneous  Memory  ....  161,  182 

Steps 10,  99,  100,  240 

Mental   20 

Characteristic    241 

Subject   36,  108 

Subject  Matter,  9,  236,   237,   238, 
239,  284. 

Subect-Object    37,  127 

Subjective  Language    309 

Subjective  Method  20 

Subjective — Objective 157 

Substitution     312 

Stage,  Separative  . , 157 

Symbolic  Language,  135,  144,  147 

Sympathy 246,  267 

Syncope   144 

Synecdoche 146 

Synthesis   143 

Systematic  Memory 161,  186 

Temperance    280 

Theory  100 


Page. 

Thought 164,  199 

Truth,  scientific  100 

Understanding   166,  169 

Undiff erentiated,  activity 32 

Object 230 

Unifying    167 

Unity 26,  27,154 

Fused    26,  27 

Differentiated 10,  37 

Mediated   29 

Organized    10,    27 

Universal,   The 215 

In  a  Lesson   235 

Verification   100 

Visualization     140 

Voluntary   Memory 161,    184 

Will,  objectified 35 

Wisdom    280 

Work- 
Analytic  (In  language),  135,  143 
Constructive  (In  language,)  138, 
148. 

With  isolated  sentences 310 

Suggestions     for,     in     Lan- 
guage     305,  321 

Preliminary  in  Language .  . .  309 
With  completed  selection. .  .313 

Wonder  ..  ..273 


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